Breathing Life
by DianneRose2016
Summary: Challenge Fic summary inside: Buffy has been back alive for 2 days now. All she is feeling is numb and a slow burning anger within her at her friends. They immediately push off all of the responsibilities onto her and leave her to deal with everything on her own. When it becomes too much Buffy and Dawn pack a bag and leave town with Spike. Her friends won't let her go that easily.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: So this was a challenge fic requested by Tempestt. Here is the challenge and the summary basically:**_

 _ **Buffy is resurrected, and boy howdy is she pissed. She keeps it to herself, but watches with resentment as the scoobs have no problem shrugging the slayer duties back onto her shoulders along with Dawn's care and the financials. After hearing from Dawn how Spike cared for her during the summer, and witnessing his continued concern for his girls' wellbeing, Buffy forms a plan. She goes to a local worlock/wizard/witch and gets 3 matching rings, (any worn object really) that have a seriously advanced cloaking spell. She goes to the solicitor that handled her mother's will and sets up secret accounts, transfers the rest of her meager funds and contacts an agent to sell the house and the contents. She does all this without speaking to anyone. Once its ready she goes to Dawn and tells her to pack one small bag, mostly with mementos she can't leave behind, like the family photo album. Dawn is not whiney. All she wants is to be with her sister, and trusts her completely. She suspects what's going on and fully supports it, being mad at the Scooby's behavior herself. She packs and follows Buffy to Spike's crypt. Buffy asks Spike to take them away, it never once occurring to her that he could say no. It never once occurs to him to say anything other than yes. He gets a bag together, cleans out the Desoto and they head out.**_

 _ **They stop over in Las Vegas for a while. Spike takes their seed money and manages to work his way up the ranks from a small time poker games to a huge tournament (demon friendly of course!) where he cleans up. Meanwhile the girls are having a ball, shopping (money provided by Spike's winnings) dancing and generally having a good time.**_

 _ **Together they set up house and live quite happily together. Can be anywhere, even outside the country. Or maybe they travel for a year. Slow build up to Spuffy. Spike is definitely man of the house. Buffy may choose to slay, up to author. Scoobs finds them. Maybe Angel asks the oracles to reveal their location. Up to author if Spuffy returns to Sunnydale or stay where they are, but scoobs and Angel are unsuccessful in breaking them up.**_

 _ **Story Warnings: Sexual situations, swearing and violence.**_

 _ **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

Chapter 1

Buffy stood there looking out the window in her bedroom. It was just before sunset and only the second day since she had been brought back from the dead. Everyone was already downstairs waiting for her to come down and join them for dinner. This was the first time all day that she had been able to get any time alone. They had all been hounding her with questions, well everyone but Dawn, Dawn was a silent pillar of support. She was close by, but not questioning her about her time in Hell. The only one that knew the truth about where she was, was Spike. Buffy didn't know why she told him at all. It had just came out. There was something about the look in his eyes that told her he would understand. That he wouldn't weigh her down with questions or acts of concerns. And he didn't disappoint her. He was understanding and was allowing her to come to terms with it on her own. Buffy knew though that if she needed to talk about it he would be more than willing to listen.

Buffy had spent most of her time since being back just completely lost and numb. Today though listening to how she didn't have much money anymore and she was now going to have to try and figure out how to get money to pay for the bills and medical bills from her mother's hospital stay. She was going to have to work, patrol and take care of Dawn who would be starting school soon once again. For the first time since she was brought back Buffy felt something other than numb, she felt anger. She was angry that her friends, the people who were supposed to be her family, not even offering to help her out. Willow and Tara who were living here weren't paying the mortgage or the other bills and they weren't offering to pay rent currently now either. Buffy had wanted to ask who had been paying the bills if they weren't and there was barely any money in the bank account. Buffy could feel the resentment coming off of Dawn at her friends and it wasn't just because they brought her back from the dead and didn't tell Dawn or Spike for that matter. There was an anger inside of her and Buffy didn't know how long it would be before she blew up from everything. All she could do was try and push it down and push forward like her mother would want her to be doing. The problem is she just couldn't seem to bring herself to. She knew she should be more than happy to be alive and back with her friends and family. At the same time though, she was at peace in Heaven with her mother. She was warm and filled with light and love. And now she was here in a cold, dark and evil world. A world where she didn't want anything to do with it, but she was now forced to be in once again. Forced to fight for her life over and over again because her friends, the people that love her, decided her fate without any thought other than a selfish one.

Buffy pushed away from the window and headed down the stairs and into the kitchen where everyone was standing around. Tara was cooking some kind of pasta meal that Buffy couldn't bring herself to care about. She hadn't really eaten anything in the past two days. She just wasn't hungry. She was more tired and worn out than anything in the moment. Buffy saw that Dawn was working on something while she sat at the island. Buffy went over and spoke.

"What is that?"

"It's my homework. I've been taking courses since the summer to work ahead. If I take a few extra courses each year in the summer I can graduate a year or even a year and a half early." Dawn answered calmly.

"Oh, then what?"

"Then I'll go to University. I want to have a Masters in Social Studies with a Bachelor in Law. I want to be a social worker that focuses on both human and demon laws."

"Why would you want to do that?" Xander asked as the others could hear the conversation.

"Spike was telling me about some of the things he saw around the world. He told me about human and demon children being trapped in abusive homes and situations because no one is there to care enough to get them out. I want to help other children be in safe situations. Having the duel degrees would allow me to be a social worker and a lawyer, which would also let me be a child advocate. Did you know that Spike helped free people from concentration camps back in World War Two? He's also helped create safe houses for demons that are in war zones or children escape from an abusive home. He's helped them stay hidden and given new identities." Dawn said proudly.

"I highly doubt that very much Dawn. Spike lies quite often. The Watcher's Journals were very clear about what type of monster Spike was and is." Giles said with a condescending tone.

"Spike told me about those journals and said they are all made up stories and lies. Like how he killed an entire orphanage ten years before he was even killed." Dawn said in a challenging tone.

"I'm sure he was mistaken. The Watchers who recorded the activities over time would never lie and create false stories within the Journals. It would go against everything they stand for." Giles said back.

"It makes sense to me. They wanted the Slayers to kill every demon and vampire they saw. They didn't want to risk them finding out that some vampires and demons are actually good and harmless. They wanted a girl to be their killer and they weren't going to risk them turning against the Council. It's why that stupid barbaric test was created, so they could kill off the Slayers that were too independent and rebellious. Lying about powerful vampires seems like an easy step when you think about the number of Slayers were killed by Watchers." Dawn said.

"That is a complete load of folly. That is not why the test was created and I do not appreciate Spike trying to make it seem like the Council and Watchers are the evil ones. Spike is nothing more than a soulless vampire who would have been killed by Buffy a long time ago if it were not for his chip. I will not have him manipulating your thoughts and beliefs to suit his demonic ways." Giles said offended.

"He hasn't manipulated anything. It's my own beliefs and thoughts on the matter from my experience and the materials that I have read. I asked Spike questions he told me and also supplied me with books from different people both human and demon of recounting the events. I made a logical opinion. You don't get to blame Spike for everything and you don't get to act like he isn't different from the vampire he used to be. Spike doesn't kill people, because he chose to. He could have just done it and pushed through the pain, but he didn't. He could have other people kill and then he drank from them, but he didn't. He didn't have to help out with fighting demons or stopping the world from ending, but he did. You all are so hung up on the fact that he is a vampire you don't give him any credit to all of the things he's done against his vampire nature." Dawn said with anger at Giles.

"You weren't around for all of the times he's tried to kill one of us Dawnie. He's not who you think he is." Xander said back.

"Are you the same person you were when you were sixteen? Should I be judging you and treating you like you were some stupid sixteen year old? You wouldn't like that very much now would you? You think because he's a vampire that makes it okay to ignore all of the progress and change he's gone through and adapted to? All the times he saves your lives in the past few years. He's the one that has been doing the patrolling while Buffy was gone. He's the one that took care of me." Dawn said back.

"We were here taking care of you too Dawnie. It wasn't just Spike." Willow said slightly offended.

"Oh really? Who paid the bills? Who made sure there was food in the fridge? Who stayed up with me when I was sick with the flu? Who took me to school to register for new courses for the summer? Spike did it all." Dawn argued back.

"Spike wasn't paying the bills, Giles was." Willow said now getting slightly mad herself.

"I was not paying the bills. I assumed that you and Tara were living here that you would be the ones to step up and take care of Dawn and the bills." Giles said.

"Nope they didn't. Spike did. They didn't move in until two weeks later. If it wasn't for Spike I would have been living in a cardboard box eating out of the dumpsters. Maybe you all should try being nice to him because if it wasn't for him I might not be alive." Dawn said back happy that she clearly shocked them by finding out that Spike was the one to pay the bills.

Before anyone could say anything to that the front door was unlocked and opened. Everyone, but Dawn was shocked that the door was being unlocked as they believed they were the only ones with a key. When they saw Spike walk into the kitchen they were all shocked and Xander was angry.

"How the hell did you get in here undead?" Xander said.

"I have a key you moron. Ello Niblet, Buffy." Spike said with a gentle voice and small nod to Buffy.

Buffy just looked at Spike and didn't say anything. Spike could see in her eyes that she was still very much dead. She didn't care about anything right now and Spike knew it would take a long time before she did.

"Spike, how did you get in when I know the door was locked?" Giles asked frustrated that Spike could just walk in whenever he wanted it seemed.

"Because I have a key." Spike said slowly as they just wet over that fact.

"How the hell did you get a key?" Xander asked with outrage.

"I gave him one like four months ago." Dawn said as she rolled her eyes.

"Dawn, why would you give him a key without telling us?" Willow asked clearly not happy about this.

"Because he was practically living here for four months. Why shouldn't he have one so he could come and go. It's not like you were around to ask." Dawn said with attitude.

"I've clearly walked in on the wrong moment." Spike said obviously picking up on the tension in the room.

"All the more reason for you to not be here Dead Boy Jr. So why don't you leave your key and get the hell out of here and go back to your dark and damp hole in the earth where you belong." Xander said with anger.

"Because he's allowed to be here whenever he wants. If you don't like it then you can be the one to leave." Dawn said with attitude once again.

"How's the homework Little Bit?" Spike asked hoping to cool off the room.

"It's coming. I could actually use your help with my Calculus."

"If you needed help why didn't you ask me? I would have totally helped you." Willow said slightly offended.

"Because Spike is smarter than all of you." Dawn said like it was the most obvious thing in the world as she packed up her books. "Let's go in the living room okay?" Dawn said to Spike.

"Sure Bit." Spike easily agreed.

Him and Dawn headed over into the living room and sat down on the couch. Buffy moved over and looked through the doorway to see Dawn showing Spike the questions in her homework that she didn't understand. She watched as Spike calmly explained to her what she needed to do and helped her work through the problems instead of just telling her the answer. Buffy didn't know how long she stood there watching Spike calmly teaching Dawn Calculus. She had blocked out anything outside of the image in front of her. Before she died she would have been applaud at the thought of Spike being this close to Dawn and helping her. She would have been applaud at the thought of Spike having a key to her house so he could come and go as he pleased. She knew that Spike was in love with her, but she always thought it wasn't true. That he just believed he loved her. Yet now seeing them together like this it was so clear that he loved Dawn. He stayed to help take care of her, to raise her, to pay the bills. The soulless vampire was the one to step up and take care of her little sister and not her friends and family like they should have. Buffy found that anger within her starting to grow at the thought that her own friends had betrayed her not once, but twice. They should have been the ones to take care of Dawn. Spike was and they were just acting like he didn't keep her alive for these past almost five months. They were still treating him like less than dirt and that made Buffy even madder.

Buffy was snapped out of her thoughts when a hand was placed on her right forearm. Buffy turned her head to see Willow standing there looking concerned.

"Hey you okay? You kinda spaced out on us there."

"Fine." Buffy said as she turned away from Spike and Dawn and faced the others.

"We were talking about having Willow perform a no invite spell so we can block Spike out. She was saying that she could make it so that only she could invite Spike back in. Anyone else and it won't work." Xander said.

"Xander wants to do it right away." Anya said.

"Pretty sure Willow has done enough spells to last her a life time recently don't you think?" Buffy said with a slight anger tone in her voice.

"I know there was that whole hitchhiker business and I'm totally sorry about it. I had no idea that would happen, but in my defense no one has really raised the dead before. This is a simple spell that will keep Spike out of the house." Willow said in her own defense.

"Now that you are back he'll go right back to being creepy and obsessive with you. He'll stalk you and Dawn. It's not safe to have him around here." Xander said.

"I would agree with Xander. I was not aware of the amount of time Dawn was spending with Spike. It's not good to encourage the relationship between them. Spike is clearly influencing Dawn and manipulating her mind. Vampires don't see age and with her affection for Spike he could easily take advantage of it seeing as he will not be involved with you. Dawn is almost sixteen and would be perfect age for Spike to start grooming to be in a relationship with him. You must take this seriously Buffy." Giles said in his Watcher tone.

"Spike looks at Dawn like a little sister, he always has and he always will. Spike can come and go anytime he wants." Buffy said.

"Buffy really you must think clearly about this." Giles said with disappointment in his voice.

"I am. I'm not punishing the one person who was there for my sister when I was dead. I would have thought the people who claimed to love me would be the ones to look after her. But apparently it was the one person who had every reason to leave. You don't get to be disappointed in me. I get to be disappointed in you, in all of you. If you don't like Spike being here then you can be the one that leaves." Buffy snapped before she turned and went into the living room and sat down in the chair by the table.

Spike looked up at her with concern in his eyes and Buffy just pulled her legs up to her chest and closed her eyes. Spike continued to help Dawn with her homework for the next hour until Tara spoke and said it was time for dinner. Dawn put her books away and went into the kitchen to see the still not happy faces of the others. Spike looked over at Buffy and knew she wasn't sleep, just pretending to. He decided to leave her be and let her continue on faking sleep. He couldn't blame her for it. He would be pissed off at the world and everyone within it if he was ripped out of Heaven, by her friends no less. Spike went out the back door for a smoke.

"Where is Buffy?" Giles asked.

"She's in the living room. I think she's asleep." Tara answered.

"Has she eaten anything since being back?" Giles asked with concern.

"I don't know." Tara answered.

Giles went into the living room and over to Buffy. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and called her name.

"Buffy, you need to wake up and eat something."

Buffy didn't want to eat. She didn't want to be around any of them, but she knew by the tone of voice that Giles was using that he wasn't about to let this go. Buffy opened her eyes and just gave a nod. She didn't want to talk to any of them. She didn't want to see any of them. She didn't want to hear any of their voices. Buffy was trying to figure out how to get them out of her house. The problem was Tara and Willow lived with her. They had moved in after she died to help take care of Dawn and yet it didn't seem like they were doing any taking care of at all. They were sleeping on her mother's bed, eating her food that Spike was paying for. They didn't seem to be contributing to anything in the house or with Dawn.

Buffy got up and headed into the kitchen to see Dawn sitting down eating her pasta while the others stood or leaned against something. Buffy went over and grabbed a bowl and put a small amount of pasta into it just to please everyone and hopefully it would be enough to get them out of her house for the while. Buffy leaned against the counter as Spike walked back in and went to lean against the doorway into the living room behind Dawn.

"It's almost time for you to patrol Buffy. Without you here I am sure the vampires and demons have been increasing." Giles said.

"Spike's been patrolling and taking care of it." Dawn said.

"Yes well Spike is not a Slayer, it is not his job. He is no longer needed for it or in here for that matter." Giles said still not pleased with the level of involvement that Spike has been in.

"Someone has to do it while you were off in Merry Olde after abandoning the Bit. Buffy just got brought back two nights ago the last thing she should be doing is patrolling." Spike said with anger in his voice.

"Oh really and what should Buffy be doing then?" Giles said with a challenging tone.

"Anything she bloody well wants. She should be on a bus heading for the beach for a month and just recuperatin' and relaxin'. Not out fightin' demons and vamps when her head isn't in the game." Spike snapped back.

"And you know what her head is like? You just want her weak so you can continue to be here and act like there's a reason for it." Xander said with his own anger.

"Are you people blind or just that stupid? She was brought back from the dead after almost being dead for five months. You don't just wake up and hop right back into life." Spike said.

"The best thing for Buffy is to get back into a normal routine. If she pushes off her responsibilities then she will continue to do so and people will get hurt and killed. She is the Slayer. She is the one to be taking care of Dawn and raising her. It's her responsibility now and she has to step up and handle it. It is that simple. I will not tolerate you hindering her in her recovery." Giles said with a deadly anger.

"You lot are the ones that are going to get her killed. But why listen to the bloke that has died and woken up in a coffin? The only one in the room that knows and understands what she is going through is me and you lot are too stupid and stubborn to listen to me. Your pushing will get her killed." Spike warned.

"That's enough Spike. You don't know what you are talking about. Buffy is fine and she can handle this. You really should go back to your crypt Spike. You're not needed anymore." Willow said.

"I need him and want him here. And considering this is my house you don't get to kick him out." Dawn said.

"We live here too Dawnie. We get an opinion and vote. You're out voted this time, three to one." Willow said calmly.

"And who was the third? Because last I heard Buffy told you all that if you didn't like Spike here to get out. So until you pay the mortgage like Spike is currently doing, you don't get a vote or an opinion. Don't like it then you can move out." Dawn said with anger in her voice.

"Dawnie, sweetie were not trying to cause any problems." Tara said gently.

"Really, because it sounds the exact opposite." Dawn said.

"They just want Buffy to go back to normal so they don't have to worry about patrolling or anything but their own lives. That's why they did the spell and brought Buffy back to life. So she can take care of everything again." Anya simply said.

"That's not why we did it. She was in Hell. We had to get her out." Willow said with anger and disgust that Anya would say something like that.

"Look, why is not important. What is, is that Buffy is back and as such she has responsibilities that she must handle. It's time for her to be the adult and handle what needs to be done. Starting with patrolling." Giles said.

"Ya Buffy can handle it and she is fine. So Dead Boy Jr, you can stay the hell away from her and just leave. Preferably town because Buffy is fine." Xander said.

"Fine eh? You do realise that she hasn't even spoken up yet right? The only thing she did say was for you all to get over me being here. Nothing since, and nothing since this conversation started. That's fine to you?" Spike pointed out.

"Because she know we're right." Xander said back.

"Wow you lot really are stupid." Spike simply stated.

Spike looked over at Buffy and saw her playing with the food in the bowl looking down at it. She hadn't eaten anything at all since being back and Spike knew why. He might have come out a vampire, but he knew about what happens when someone was dead for almost five months. Spike pushed away from the doorway and went over to the cupboard where the tea was kept. He picked up the kettle and put water into it and turned it on as he spoke in a gentle tone.

"You shouldn't eat that Luv, it'll hurt your stomach. See if you can keep some tea and toast down first before you eat something more complicated."

Buffy looked relived that she didn't have to eat it so she placed it down on the counter.

"She needs real food to keep her strong and give her strength." Giles said.

"Her stomach hasn't had anything in it for almost five months. It's like someone that has been in a coma, you don't hand them pasta or complicated food when they first open their eyes. She needs bland and simple food in small amounts to build her stomach back up. If she can keep the tea and toast down she can move on to something else later like ice cream and soup. She eats anything too rich or hard on the stomach and she'll just get sick, Slayer or not her stomach is an organ that needs to be reintroduced to food." Spike explained.

"That makes sense. I'm sorry Buffy I didn't think of it like that." Tara said apologetically.

"It's fine." Buffy said with a shrug.

Dawn's phone beeped and she pulled it out of her pocket and looked down at it to see that it was a text from one of her friends.

"When did you get a cell phone?" Willow asked.

"Spike got it for me like four months ago so we could talk during the day if I needed him." Dawn answered as she read the texts. "Oh ya I totally forgot. My friends are asking if we're still on for tomorrow night." Dawn said as she looked at Spike.

"What's tomorrow night?" Willow asked.

"Spike said I could have a few friends over and we would make pizza and just hang out for a little while. They want to know if we're still on." Dawn said unsure of if she should have people over after what happened.

"Why didn't you ask us if you could have people over? We live here Dawnie, maybe we don't want to have a mini party." Willow said.

"It's not a party just three friends. I'm fifteen, I'm allowed to have friends. Spike said I could because it's a Friday night and I got an A on my last two mid-terms. I just don't know if it's a good idea now." Dawn said.

"It's fine." Buffy said.

"Are you sure? I can totally cancel and just say that you got back from a vacation and need to rest." Dawn said with understanding in her voice.

"You're doing well in your courses?" Buffy asked softly.

"She's doin' really well. She's completed two courses already with a final grade in the ninety percent range. She's workin' on course number three and four right now all University level. She got an A on her two mid-terms last week. I said she could have a few mates over to celebrate her hard work." Spike answered.

"It's fine though, I can tell them that something has come up and just do something else really Buffy." Dawn said not wanting to overwhelm Buffy.

"No you should have them over. You've been working really hard on your school work even though it's summer. Spike's right you should celebrate and be rewarded for it. They can sleep over if they want." Buffy said.

"Are you sure though?" Dawn said really unsure.

"Ya. I'm proud of you, you deserve this. I want you to have fun. I'll be fine." Buffy said.

"Ok, but here's the thing, um, they aren't exactly human." Dawn said slightly unsure.

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked confused.

"During the past four months with the Bit being around me she met Clem and that led her to meetin' a few of my other mates. They had kiddies around the same age as the Bit and they became friends. They're all harmless demons I swear I would never take her around anyone even slightly dangerous." Spike said.

"We've become good friends. It's cool not having to hide that my sister is the Slayer or that I have Spike in my life. They're half-demons and half-human so they have souls and are good people. I would totally get it though, if you weren't comfortable with them in the house." Dawn added.

"Have they been here before?" Willow asked shocked.

"Ya a few times." Dawn said.

"Where were Tara and I?" Willow asked.

"Out somewhere. Spike was here with us." Dawn said.

"Why the hell would you be friends with demons? How did this happen and we didn't know about it?" Xander said with anger.

"Because you've had your head up your arse the whole time." Spike said back.

"Dawn, you should not be friends or interacting with demons, even if they are half-breeds. It's not safe." Giles said in his Watcher tone.

"Why not? We've been friends for like four months now almost. We've hung out at each other's place. I've met their parents and siblings. We've gone to movies together, out shopping together. What's the big deal? They have souls that you guys are always going on about. Their parents work for a living in town and are good people. What's the big deal?" Dawn said.

"The big deal as you put it, is that they are still part demon. They can still be dangerous and you shouldn't be around them. You are a young impressionable girl and you should not be involved within that life." Giles said.

"But it's okay for me to help with research on local demons when one comes up? It's okay for me to be around Anya who is an Ex-demon? It's okay for me to be hunted by a Hell God, but I can't be friends with safe and cool people because they have half-demon blood in them? How does that make sense exactly?" Dawn said.

"You know them?" Buffy asked Spike.

"Ya Luv I've known them for forty some odd years. I'm a Godfather to six of their children. They are harmless demons who make an honest living and raise their children. I trust them." Spike answered.

"Then okay. Have them over." Buffy said to Dawn.

"Buffy you can't be serious." Giles said outraged.

"Why not? None of you cared that apparently Spike was the main care provider of Dawn while I was dead. You don't get to start caring now. Spike wouldn't let Dawn be hurt or be around anyone dangerous. If he says they're not that's good enough for me. You don't like it then don't be here." Buffy said sounding exhausted.

Spike went to make two pieces of white toast while he spoke to Dawn.

"Bit, do you understand the rest of your homework?"

"Ya I totally got it now. It was just that one part in the book that didn't make any sense to me. I'll finish that chapter tonight before I go to bed. I'll leave it down here so you can check over it before I move on to the next chapter. This chapter is the first step to the next chapter's work and if I don't have it right then the next chapter will be a total mess."

"I'll check it over later." Spike said.

"I have work tomorrow at nine until one remember?" Dawn said.

"Since when do you work?" Tara asked shocked.

"I started volunteering three months at an animal shelter to get my volunteer hours for school. After I had the hours I didn't want to leave and they offered me a job working part-time. I work about twenty hours a week." Dawn said.

"Tried tellin' her she didn't need to be workin', but the stubborn Bit won't listen." Spike said as he got the toast and tea ready.

"You work hard enough to pay the bills here. The least I can do is work so I can have some money for things I might want or need. I like working there and it'll look good for my University applications." Dawn said.

"Why didn't you tell us you were working?" Xander asked.

"Because you hardly talk to me and never ask how my life is when I do see you, which is almost never." Dawn said back with attitude.

"That's not true." Xander said.

"Sure that's why no one but Spike knew I was working." Dawn said back.

"Do you have the money I gave you for the food for tomorrow night?" Spike asked.

"Yes I have it to get the food. The others will be here around five." Dawn said as she brought her bowl to the sink.

"Will you be here?" Buffy asked Spike.

"If you want Luv." Spike said gently.

"You should be. They don't know me." Buffy said.

"Then I'll be here. Bit go finish your homework please."

"I'm going. I have a few chapters to read in my English book assignment. I'll get my Calculus done first then read a little bit. Be safe tonight."

"Always Bit."

Dawn kissed Spike's cheek before she turned and headed up the stairs. Spike turned to Buffy.

"Here Luv, why don't you take these upstairs and take a nice hot bubble bath and relax. Your body is gonna feel rundown for a good week, Slayer healing and all. The best thing for ya is rest Luv. I'll handle the patrols." Spike said gently as he handed Buffy her cup of tea and two pieces of toast with just butter on them.

Buffy took them and just gave a nod. She was thankful that someone else was going to be handling things for a little while for her. She knew what she was supposed to be doing, but she just couldn't bring herself to do them. Buffy didn't say anything else, she just headed up the stairs and went into the bathroom. She was going to do exactly what Spike had said for her.

"I do not want you around her Spike. I do not need you making her weak just so you can manipulate and take advantage of the situation." Giles said.

"Then take care of her. You don't want me around? Too bad. None of you lot seem to be interested in taking care of either of them so I will. I'm not manipulating either of them as for taking advantage you lot have the market on that. You didn't want to handle all the nasties that are here so you go behind my back, behind the Bit's back and bring her back from the dead. And just like the idiots you are you didn't even stop to think about the consequences or checking to make sure she was in a Hell dimension. She's Heaven's chosen one, how the hell can you be so sure that she was even in Hell? You didn't bother to check. You didn't bother to ask someone with more experience and knowledge than you. You didn't even think about anyone else's feelings but your own selfish ones. If this had been about what was best for Buffy you would have checked which dimension she was in first. You would have talked to the Watcher about it. You would have told me about it and I could have put you in contact with the right people to help you do it so she didn't wake up in her bloody coffin. You all wanted her alive so you could go back to living your lives without a care in the world. She's not okay so either take care of her or stay the hell out of her life. I got work and a patrol to do. Leave her the hell alone tonight and quit talking about her like she's not even in the bloody room." Spike said with anger as he turned and stormed out of the house.

"I told you we should have asked him." Anya said once the noise from the door slamming was gone.

"He does make a good point to some degree. Why did you all not ask him about bringing Buffy back? Why did you not look to see which dimension Buffy was in? As much as it pains me to say, Spike does have a great understanding and knowledge of magic. He would have been helpful to use as a resource. He at least would have made sure to dig the coffin up first." Giles said with anger to Willow more than the others.

"Spike doesn't know more about magic than me. I did all of the research and got everything that we needed. With the spell we had to do it on her grave. We would have dug the coffin up if we thought the spell worked. We were interrupted." Willow said confidently.

"There was also a small chance that Buffy could have come back wrong. Spike wouldn't have let us correct the problem. He would have protected Buffy and she wouldn't have wanted to be a danger to anyone." Xander said.

"Ah so you didn't tell the vampire about it just in case you had to kill Buffy. Spike was right about one thing, you are all imbeciles. Why were you four not taking care of Dawn and the bills?" Giles asked now having the chance to now that they were alone.

"Giles man, I have my own bills to pay. I can't afford this place, plus the hospital bills. We couldn't report Buffy's death because then child services would have been involved and taken Dawn." Xander said.

"So instead of child services being involved, you let Spike, a vampire, take care of her. And you two? What is your excuse for not helping out with the bills and Dawn's care while you are living in this house?" Giles asked Willow and Tara.

"We were here taking care of Dawn. We've been busy working on the spell and getting everything ready. Dawn was doing good and the bills were being paid we thought by you. We didn't know." Willow said.

"And you thought my paying your bills would be alright? Why did you both not go and get a job during your time off from school? Were you never planning on working and allowing someone else, who does not live here, to pay your bills?" Giles asked annoyed and disappointed.

"We were working on bringing Buffy back. After that we would have figured it out. Buffy would have been working while Tara and me were in school. We would have figured it out. We just haven't had the chance to with the way Buffy has been these past two days. We can talk about it with her tomorrow." Willow said.

"Yes, well I suggest that you do. The sooner we can get Spike out of her life the better off she and Dawn will be. I'm going to head home. I suggest you both talk about this and see what you are prepared to do to help Buffy as you are both living under her roof." Giles said.

"We'll talk to Buffy about it tomorrow." Willow said.

"Come on Ahn, let's get going home to." Xander said.

Giles, Xander and Anya left the house leaving only Tara and Willow left in the kitchen.

"What do you think about what Spike said, about maybe Buffy wasn't in a Hell dimension?" Tara asked gently.

"I think he's only saying that to try and make us feel bad for leaving him out of this. He wants Buffy to be weak so he can be the hero and take advantage of her. He's acting like he's the only one that cares about her. Plus everything with Dawnie. We really shouldn't have let this happen. We need to try and get Dawn away from Spike. We don't need him around here and we can't just let him manipulate the two of them." Willow said with strength.

"I don't think he's manipulating them. I think he cares about them. He's just doing his best. We really haven't been paying much attention to Dawnie recently. We've been so busy focusing on bringing Buffy back. We did just leave her to be dealt with by Spike. That wasn't the right thing to do." Tara said.

"I know and looking back yes we shouldn't have done that. So we make it right and be there for her. Buffy just needs to see we are here for her and she doesn't need Spike. I know it'll be hard at first for her to adjust to having to work and patrol, but she'll get used to it and get into the routine of it. She just needs time to adjust and then everything will go right back to normal." Willow said confidently.

"And if it doesn't?" Tara asked with worry.

"Don't worry about it Baby. Everything will. You'll see." Willow said confidently. "Now why don't we call it an early night?" Willow said as she moved over to Tara with a playful smile on her face.

"That sounds nice." Tara said back with a smile.

They both giggled as they left the kitchen and the dirty dishes behind and headed up the stairs.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It wasn't until three in the morning when Spike came through the front door to the house. He had just spent his night working for a demon helping him moving heavy crates onto a truck. Each crate weighed roughly five hundred pounds and even though Spike was a vampire it was still heavy. He did that for six hours before he went on patrol and got into three demon fights and staked eight vampires before finally coming back here to check on Dawn's homework before he could then go back to his crypt and get some sleep. Spike closed and locked the door and started to head into the kitchen. He stopped when he saw Buffy sitting on the couch with only one light on. Spike leaned against the doorway as he spoke.

"What are you doing awake at this hour Luv?" Spike asked gently.

Buffy shrugged before she spoke. "Couldn't sleep. What's in the bag?"

Spike had a small brown paper bag in his hand. He spoke as he pulled the item out.

"I know it's not your favorite flavour, but it's better than nothing." Spike said as he held up a pint of vanilla ice cream.

Buffy got up and gave a small smile as she took the pint of ice cream.

"Thanks maybe this will help my throat."

"Something wrong with your throat Luv?" Spike asked with concern as he followed Buffy into the kitchen.

"Just a little sore." Buffy answered as she went and grabbed a spoon before sitting down on a stool at the island.

"From not being used. How do your lungs feel?" Spike asked with concern.

"Ok I guess. I just feel rundown like you said." Buffy said with a small shrug as she took a small bite of the ice cream.

Spike turned to look at the sink full of dirty dishes and dirty pots on the stove. He let out a sigh before he spoke.

"Would it have killed them to clean up after themselves for once?"

Spike removed his coat and started to move the dishes around from the sink and onto the counter.

"What are you doing?" Buffy asked with an empty voice.

"Washin' up."

"They can do them in the morning." Buffy said.

"Except they won't. The Bit will get up at seven-thirty to get ready for work. She'll come down here and see them and she'll do them instead of eatin' breakfast before she heads off to work. She's already workin' twenty hours a week plus her school work. She doesn't need to deal with cleanin' up after somebody else before she goes to work." Spike said as he filled the sink with water and soap.

"They really haven't helped out at all?"

Spike let out a sigh as he turned off the water and put some of the dirty plates in.

"I know you really want me to tell you that they have been helpful and great for you kid sis, but I can't." Spike said as he started to wash the dishes.

"What can you tell me?"

"It's not important Luv. You're back and they will help you out now with everything." Spike said not wanting to hurt Buffy.

"It is important though. They're my friends, my family, they were supposed to be here for her when I wasn't. I was dead and Giles apparently left to go back to England. Tara and Willow moved into Mom's room, but apparently didn't pay any bills. You've been paying them. They didn't know Dawn had a job. This is important Spike. I need to know and I know you'll give me the truth. You don't lie. You always said why lie when the truth hurts so much."

"I don't want to hurt you. I never want to hurt you." Spike said sadly.

"I know. But this is something I need to know even if it hurts, but I don't think it will. Not anymore than being pulled out of Heaven. Tell me please." Buffy said sadly.

"I wasn't 'round for the first two weeks. Not somethin' I'm proud of. Spent the first two weeks blind drunk. Had injuries after the fall, eight broken bones besides a shattered leg and three crushed organs. Didn't leave my crypt. Your Watcher took off right after your funeral. One they so politely had at noon in the middle of the cemetery so I couldn't be there even if I could figure out how to get there. Didn't matter that I was the one injured and all, that I caught your body from the fall. In case you survived somehow. They took Niblet and your body and left, didn't even check to see if I was behind them. I wasn't. I had to hide out under some cardboard boxes until nightfall came." Spike said with emptiness in his voice, but Buffy knew that had hurt him more than he was letting on.

"I'm sorry Spike. They shouldn't have done that. Not after everything you tried to do." Buffy said.

"Used to it." Spike said with a shrug before he continued. "Anyway. It was two weeks before I really saw the Bit. I hadn't seen her since that night. Figured your mates were lookin' after her. I couldn't really walk with a broken leg to begin with. Clem came by with blood and booze for me every couple of days. When the Bit showed up I could tell she was hurtin', but with more than just loosing you. She came in and I could hear her stomach all growly. She looked like a wreck. Black bags under her eyes, hair all unkempt and unwashed. Seein' her sobered me right quick."

"Why was she like that?"

Spike moved on to the dirty pots as he spoke.

"She had been on her own for the past two weeks. No one was there with her. Red and Glinda hadn't moved in yet. The rent hadn't been paid, the utilities bills hadn't been paid, not since your Mum passed. They shut the water and electricity off a week before that. The bank sent a letter about unpaid rent. She had been using her pocket change to get as much food as she could, which wasn't much. She called your mates no one answered or called her back. She didn't come to me because she knew I was injured. She stole some food a few nights before she came to me. She felt so guilty about it, but she was starvin' and no one was helpin' her. Seein' her like that. This fifteen year old girl that had lost both her Mum and big sis not too far apart. Livin' all alone in that house with no money, no electricity, no water, no food. I almost killed all of your mates for doin' that to her." Spike said as he finished the dishes.

"They just left her alone? For two weeks? They just left her." Buffy said with anger in her voice for her friends doing that to Dawn, someone she loved whole heartedly.

"I'm sorry to say Luv, but they did. I got her to go downstairs in my crypt to take a shower. Then we went out for dinner. She ate a whole pizza herself. She stayed at mine that night. The next day I went and used my savings, paid the bills so they were all up to date. Bought her food and took her home. Red and Glinda moved in the next day. Their apartment was goin' up in rent and they couldn't afford it on their student loans. They moved in to save money. They told the Bit that it was so they could be there for her and take care of her, but it wasn't. They're actions said otherwise. You don't move in two weeks after someone had been dead to finally take care of the sister that was left behind. Glinda I think had good intentions of wanting to be there to help the Bit, but she got distracted and swept up with Red and her magic plans. The Whelp wasn't around much and when he was he barely said two words to Niblet."

"So you took care of her." Buffy stated.

"No one else was. I promised you I would protect her till the end of the world. I love the Niblet and I take care of the ones I love. She gave me a key and I started stayin' here most nights. I started workin' for different demons helpin' out in factories or security. Workin' ten hours a night then going out to patrol. I'd come back here make the Bit breakfast before catchin' some sleep. I'd cook dinner, clean, started teachin' the Bit how to drive and some self- defense moves in case somethin' every happened to her when I wasn't around. She wanted to do some school work during her months off so she could graduate early and leave this town behind. I'd help her with her homework and study. For four months it was just us. Thought about just takin' her and leavin' but knew you wouldn't like me leavin' your mates behind to get eaten so I stayed."

Spike went over to the fridge and grabbed some food out so he could make Dawn a lunch to take to work.

"Thank-you for everything you did for her. I never expected for you to have to do that." Buffy said with honesty in her voice.

"It's what was right. Never have to thank me for that Luv."

"What are you doing?"

"Making Niblet a lunch to take to work before I check her homework." Spike said as he rolled his shoulders and let out a groan.

"You okay?"

"Fine Luv just sore. Spent six hours movin' five hundred pound crates onto trucks for a mate of mine before patrolin'. I'll be fine after some kip. How are you doin?" Spike asked with concern.

Buffy went and put her spoon in the sink before she put the ice cream back.

"That helped my throat thanks." Buffy said before she went back over and sat down.

"Buffy, Luv, it's just us. You don't have to pretend with me. How are you doing?" Spike asked gently.

"I'm so tired, but the thought of closing my eyes scares me. I keep thinking I'm going to wake up in that coffin, not being able to breathe. Was it like that for you?"

"Not at first. But after that initial blood lust wore off, ya I had a bit of a sleeping problem. It went away after a while. That first time is the hardest, then it gets easier."

"So then how do I get myself to sleep?" Buffy asked sounding lost. A tone that Spike hated coming from Buffy.

"For me I made the room I was sleepin' in completely different from what the coffin felt like. I slept with a light on so it wasn't dark. Opened window so I could feel the wind and know there was air. Scented candles so you don't smell dirt. Had some classical music playin' softly. It might sound silly, but it helped me sleep and when I did wake up I knew I wasn't in that coffin."

"Makes sense. I'll try that."

"How you feelin' besides weak and tired?" Spike asked as he put Dawn's lunch in the fridge.

"At first I was numb, mostly I'm still numb. But in moments today I've been so angry at my friends that it takes everything in me not to beat the living hell out of them for what they did. Even Giles for betraying me like this by leaving Dawn here on her own. He's the oldest in the group. He should have stepped up and took care of her. Now after hearing what you said. Tomorrow they need to answer some questions. I need to know why they did this to me. Why didn't they check to see what dimension I was in? Why?" Buffy asked hurt and angry.

"I wish I could tell you that they had good intentions, but I can't Luv. If they wanted what was best for you they would have checked first. Red raised the dead, something as simple as a multiple dimension locator spell would have been nothing to her. I think they spent so much time with you being the strong one, the leader, they didn't know how to do it without you. They didn't want to do it and with you gone they would have had to make the decision to either continue your fight or walk away. Watcher walked away. The Whelp did, he stayed in the city, but he checked out of the fight. Demon girl never cared as long as her tail was safe. Glinda is so submissive she followed Red around trying to help her with the spell. And Red did it to prove that she could. To be a witch that can say they raised the dead, brought back a Slayer after five months. She'd of been the talk of the demon world. She's gettin' power hungry and that is gonna be dangerous to this world. Someone willing to so carelessly violate this world's rules like that. She stepped foot on a dark path that night."

"You know a lot about magic." Buffy stated.

"Been around a long time Luv. Seen it before. Mark my words Red is gonna want more and more and when she can't get it through herself. She'll go somewhere else for it. Witches can get high off the power of magic. They can become addicted to it and they keep pushing the laws until they do something they can't change. Dark covens are hidden all over the world wreaking havoc on it. Watcher doesn't nip this in the bud soon she'll be well on her way."

"Tara should know better though. That's what I don't understand. Why would she go along with it without saying something first? Why wouldn't Anya. She must know about witches and dimensions." Buffy said looking for answered.

"Don't know why they didn't. Maybe they did. But Red wouldn't listen. I can't answer for them Luv. Glinda is submissive like I said, she might not have spoken up too much and just opted for supportive girlfriend role. I don't know Luv. I think when you're ready you should ask them and get the truth."

Buffy stood up and went into the living room to the desk and grabbed some papers before she came back into the kitchen.

"I was going through these earlier. I'm broke. There's only a small amount in a College fund. If you've been paying the bills then why was money coming out of my account after I was dead?" Buffy asked as she handed Spike the papers.

"What? That can't be right. I paid out of my own account. Had to open one up just to do it. Always get paid in cash, I needed an account to pay the bills. Who had your bank card pin?" Spike asked as he looked through the bills.

"Willow and Xander would have been the only ones to know it. I'm broke and it's not from paying the bills. What little money was left after Mom's funeral and life insurance was taken out. I wasn't even alive and my credit is ruined."

"These are restaurants, expensive magic books for dark magic. There's purchases for what I'm assuming was for the spell, an urn worth a few grand. They were plannin' on bringin' you back from the dead, yet they're usin' your money to live off of and get supplies to do it. This is bullshit. I'm the one takin' care of the Niblet. I'm the one patrollin' and workin' every night to pay the bills and these bloody pillocks can't work to make their own dosh for their dirty spells." Spike said with anger.

"It's like I don't matter anymore to them, maybe I never did. When I needed them the most they were off betraying me. They didn't take care of my sister. They didn't pay the bills. They used my money to live off of and to get their magic supplies just to rip me out of Heaven. And now that I am back they just want me to go right back to patrolling and now finding a job and taking care of Dawn. While they do what? Nothing. Willow and Tara live here, but they don't pay rent or pay anything towards food. They've been using my money. They aren't in school so why aren't they working? Giles just up and leaves the day of my funeral. And Xander acts like Dawn doesn't exist. I'm so pissed and what makes it worse is that even though I am this pissed off that I could just put them in the hospital. I still feel numb. Like all I'm doing is just waiting to die again so I get to go back to that warm and safe place. So how do I do it? How do I go back out there and fight the evil in this world with that death wish that you killed two Slayers from already? How do I leave Dawn behind again to bury me? How can I even trust that if I do die again that my friends won't do this to me?" Buffy said sounding angry and frustrated at the situation.

"It's why you can't go back out there Luv. Why I said that you need to rest and recover. And as much as it would kill me, if you wanted to go see Angel I would drive you there. If getting away and seeing him would help you then do that. Do whatever you need to do to get back into living. I'll do whatever I can to help you do that."

"Thanks, but seeing Angel only brings up more questions. I don't want to see anyone. I don't know what I want, but right now I don't want to see any of them. And I know they will be back here tomorrow with more expectations and I just can't do it. Not tonight anyways. Maybe once I get some sleep I'll be able to handle it."

"Not sleepin' will only make the world seem worse Luv. You need to sleep and let your body rest. I'll get out of your hair once I go over the Niblet's homework and let you get off to bed. I'll be here tomorrow after sunset. Go on up and try and sleep Luv." Spike said gently.

"You can stay if you want. Dawn said there was a cot down in the basement that you had been sleeping on. It's late you can crash here if you want."

"Ta Luv." Spike said sincerely.

Buffy got up off the stool and turned and headed out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Spike let out a sigh and rubbed his hands over his face before he picked up Dawn's homework and started to go over it. Buffy headed to the bathroom first before she went into her room. She closed the door and then took Spike's advice. She turned on the bedside lamp to give the room enough light that it would keep the room from being pitch black, but not too bright that she couldn't sleep. She opened her window and let the cool night breeze come in. She then went and lit a few candles to fill the room in a soothing scent. Finally Buffy went and put in an old CD that was filled with slow songs and put it on. She made sure the volume was low so it wouldn't keep her awake or wake anyone else up. With that done Buffy got into her favorite sleep clothes before she got into bed. She laid down and faced the window. She could see the night sky and the stars from the way she was laying. Buffy took a few calming breaths and closed her eyes. Slowly she fell asleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was almost five o'clock and Buffy was still in her room sitting down on her bed. She had slept for ten hours and she did feel a lot better physically anyways. Her body wasn't as stiff and sore. Her hands were healed up now as well. Physically she was feeling good, stronger. Mentally and emotionally she was still pissed. She wanted to confront her friends, friends that had arrived a couple of hours ago. Friends that haven't come up to see her yet because they figured she was sleeping still. She knew she should go down there and confront her friends, yet at the same time she couldn't bring herself to do it. She was trapped between anger and all consuming numbness. It felt like someone else was in her body and she was just there living out the physical movements. Nothing felt real, she didn't feel real.

There was a knock on her door before it was opened to reveal Willow on the other side. Willow walked in as she closed the door as she spoke.

"Hey you're awake. How are ya feeling?"

"Better."

"Good. I wanted to talk to you real quick before Dawnie's friends get here." Willow said as she went and sat down on the bed with Buffy before she continued to speak. "So I know I haven't been that great bestie recently. I'm sorry about Dawnie and not being there for her. I just… I just couldn't get passed you dying and being trapped in Hell. It consumed me. I couldn't sleep I kept dreaming about you being hurt and calling out to me. It was destroying me. So I pushed and I pushed to get everything I needed to bring you back and get you out of there. But now you're here and you're safe again. I promise I won't let you down again. Tara and me are gonna get jobs to help pay the rent and the bills. I made up a resume already and I made one for you. I thought we could go out tomorrow and job hunt together. And Tara and me are gonna be here more so Spike doesn't need to be around so much. I will be complete supportive friend and help you anyway that I can I swear it Buffy." Willow said sincerely.

"That's great Will." Buffy said as she forced a small smile on her face.

She wanted to scream and yell at Willow, but she looked really upset and like she wanted to make things right. As angry as she was, she just couldn't bring herself to yell at her or call her out on how she left Dawn on her own for two weeks. As much as Buffy hated what they did to Dawn she could also understand that Willow would have problems after she died. The problem with that was, everyone was having problems including Spike. He was the one seriously injured in the group. Yet he still managed to take care of Dawn.

"Good so tomorrow after breakfast we can head out and maybe grab some lunch afterwards. There are a bunch of places that are hiring around town so with any luck we could have a job soon. Are you gonna come down and meet Dawnie's friends?"

"I'll be down. Who's all here?"

"Everyone. I think they all want to see who Dawnie's friends are. Did you know Spike was here today?" Willow asked showing that she was slightly bothered by it.

"I said he could. He got back at like three in the morning. He did the dishes, made Dawn lunch and then checked her homework. He was tired and sore from work. I said he could crash here last night. I'll be down in a minute."

"Ok"

Willow headed out of the room and back down the stairs. Buffy knew she couldn't spend the night in her comfy sleep clothes. She needed to be down there to meet Dawn's friends and put up a front for her friends. She was pissed, but maybe if she just tried to live her life that anger would go away. If she just remembered that they lost a close friend and there is no right or wrong way to grieve a death she might be able to get rid of the anger. Besides it's not like someone else was going to live her life for her. She could only let Spike patrol and take care of Dawn for so long. She was living again and she couldn't just ignore the fact that if she didn't patrol someone innocent could die. She had to push through just like she always has done.

Buffy reluctantly got up and got changed into some jeans and a long sleeved black shirt. She brushed her hair and put on some makeup before she left the safety and isolation of her room and down the stairs to see her friends once again. She saw that everyone was in the living room minus Dawn and Spike. Buffy looked down the hallway and saw that Spike and Dawn were in the kitchen getting things ready for the pizza dinner Dawn was having with her friends. Once again it was Spike taking care of Dawn and not the others.

"Buffy, how are you feeling?" Giles asked with concern.

"Better now." Buffy said as she went and leaned against the doorway to the living room.

"You look better, more rested. Good you will be ready for a patrol tonight. I will come with you just in case you need some guidance. Willow has informed me that you both are going out tomorrow to apply for jobs. That's good. Getting into a normal routine will help you readjust to being back." Giles said approvingly.

"Ya. You guys staying around for this tonight?" Buffy asked referring to the sleep over.

"Not really. Just thought we'd come by and see what they looked like. We're gonna head to the Bronze." Xander said.

"Ya you should come by after your patrol." Willow said with a smile.

"Buffy needs to be here after her patrol. She can't leave four teenage girls in the house alone." Giles said.

"Spike's here." Anya said.

"Yes well he shouldn't be alone with them. It's dark now he can go back to his crypt. You will not be going to the Bronze until later. One of you can always stay here to keep an eye on the girls while Buffy patrols. Once Buffy returns you can leave for the Bronze. Rather simple." Giles said.

"I can stay here if you guys wanted to go early." Tara offered.

"Good. Now Buffy we need to leave in about an hour. I suggest you eat something and get ready." Giles said.

"Ya." Buffy said before she moved away from the doorway.

She headed into the kitchen to see Dawn laughing at something Spike said as they cut up some mushrooms for the pizza.

"Hey Buffy." Dawn said as she saw Buffy.

"Evenin' Luv. How you feelin'?" Spike asked.

"Fine. Are you all set for your friends?" Buffy asked Dawn.

"Ya almost. Spike is just helping me get the food cut up. Are you hungry? I could make you something." Dawn asked.

"Got that covered." Buffy said as she went over to the freezer and took out the pint of ice cream from last night. She grabbed a spoon and sat down on a stool at the island and began to eat.

There was a knock at the front door and Dawn spoke.

"That's my friends. I'll be right back."

Dawn left the kitchen and went over to the front door. She saw the others all sitting there looking at the door waiting to see who was on the other side.

"Really? This isn't a freak show. Don't you all have lives to live?" Dawn said with attitude at the others' actions as they were clearly more interested in what her friends looked like compared to who they were. Dawn rolled her eyes as she went to open the door.

"Hey guys come on in." Dawn said with a huge smile to her friends.

The three girls walked into the house and the others could see them. The one had purple hair and really pale skin, but other than that she looked normal. The second had all black eyes and pointed ears that were partly hidden under her green hair. The final girl had red tinted skin in sections that looked like scales and really long nails that were painted blue. Once everyone was inside Dawn closed the door.

"Who is all of these people?" The girl with the purple hair asked.

"Just some people I know. They are leaving in a minute though. Come on Spike is in the kitchen with my sister. She just got back from being away for a little while." Dawn said as she guided her friends towards the kitchen.

"Hey Spike." The three girls all said at the same time.

"Ello Pets. How have you birds been?" Spike said with a warm smile as he hugged the girl with green hair.

"Good. We've been staying out of trouble." The girl with red skin answered.

"This is my sister Buffy, Buffy this is Kris." Dawn said as she pointed to the girl with purple hair. "Tole." Dawn said as she pointed to the read with red skin. "And Mel." Dawn said as she pointed to the girl with red skin.

"Hello. It's nice to meet you three." Buffy said trying to sound friendly.

"Thanks for letting us have a sleep over tonight. Did you enjoy your vacation?" Tole asked.

"Yes it was nice thank-you. You guys make yourselves comfortable. I have to go out shortly, but I'll be back later. Dawnie, Tara is gonna stay here until I get back." Buffy said.

"Ok. Come on let's bring your stuff up into my room." Dawn said to her friends.

They all headed up into Dawn's room and Spike turned his attention to Buffy.

"Where you goin' Pet?"

"Giles is taking me out on patrol."

"I thought you were gonna rest for a bit Luv."

"I did. I'm fine. Willow and me are gonna go job hunting tomorrow." Buffy said with a shrug.

"Do you think that is a good idea?" Spike said with concern.

"I'm alive so I need to start paying the bills. I need to work. I can't change that I'm alive so I'll just have to figure it out. You work tonight?"

"I could, I said I'd be here though."

"It's fine. They don't scream evil to me. Tara will be here until I get back. I appreciate what you did for Dawn while I was gone. I have to try and figure this out now though. Maybe if I just get into a routine I won't be so angry and numb."

"It's some something you can just stick a bandage on Luv. It takes time."

"Something I don't have. It's fine. It's what Slayers do right? I'm gonna get ready to head out. I'll see you around." Buffy said as she got up and put the ice cream back into the freezer before she headed up the stairs to get ready for patrol. Spike let out a sigh. He hated that Buffy's friends were forcing everything back onto her. She had been brought back from the dead three days ago. She deserved the right to be struggling and taking a break for herself. She deserved the right to be a train wreck for a while. Spike was going to keep an eye on her and make sure that she was at least taking care of herself, because her friends obviously weren't going to be.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 **7 Days After Resurrection**

Buffy walked into the Magic Shop that morning after dropping Dawn off at her part-time job. Buffy still couldn't believe that Dawn was working at fifteen, even part-time, and Willow and Tara both hadn't been working while she was dead. Sure Buffy knew that lots of teenagers work part-time. She never had to, because her mom could afford everything on her own, how Buffy had no idea, but she managed to do it. Like Supermom. Now after being alive for a week Buffy was a newly employed young woman. Her and Willow had gone out job hunting the other day, something Willow was more happy about than Buffy. Willow had different skills than she did so she could apply for the better jobs that involved an office, while Buffy got stuck applying at places like the Doublemeat Palace, a fast food place that focused on burgers and fries. She got the call just this morning that she received the job, a full-time position with lots of room for overtime she was told. She would be making minimum wage and Anya was so nice to point out that working minimum wage she would need to work sixty hours a week to even be able to pay the bills and work on paying down the debt she was in. Buffy was not a happy camper. It didn't help that all her friends, especially Willow, swore they would be there for her and help her out with Dawn. Yet they weren't helping her. They all still left at night to go out to the Bronze or out to dinner just the four of them, because Buffy couldn't go. She had to stay and watch Dawn. Why she had to stay to keep an eye on a fifteen year old she didn't know, but it seemed pretty clear that they had all grown closer since she died and now she seemed like the fifth wheel.

She had barely seen Spike in the past few days, because now whenever he was around the others just got worse towards him, especially Xander. Whenever Buffy or Dawn mentioned Spike they would receive a lecture about how he was an evil vampire. Giles even went as far as showing Dawn some of the stories that other Watchers had recorded regarding Spike and the things he used to do. It didn't stop Dawn from going out to see Spike at his crypt or texting him at night while he was working. Buffy thought the anger would go away slowly, but as each day that passed she could feel it growing and growing. Even beating the living hell out of the vamps and demons in this town while on patrol wasn't helping her. She still felt dead. She was fighting because she had to and not because she wanted to. But when she thought about it, it had been a long time since she fought because she enjoyed it. Not since before her mother was sick. It had been even longer since Buffy had truly lived. She was deader now than she was when she was actually dead and buried in the ground.

Buffy walked into the Magic Shop and saw that everyone was there minus Spike and Dawn.

"Hey Buffy. Good news I got a job being a magic tutor. I get to do magic and get paid for it. How awesome is that?" Willow said with a huge smile on her face.

"That's great." Buffy said trying to sound happy for her.

"Plus I'm gonna be getting paid fifteen dollars an hour and I can do it while still in school." Willow said with a smile.

"We're heading to the Bronze tonight to celebrate." Tara said.

"Good for you." Buffy said.

"Have you heard back from any of your job applications Buffy?" Giles asked.

"Ya this morning I got offered a job. Full-time working at the Doublemeat Palace. I start in a couple of hours for my first shift."

"Congratulations Buffy. You were able to get a full-time position that will help you with your monthly bills. You are being responsible and being able to provide for Dawn." Giles said.

"When does your shift end? You could meet us at the Bronze to celebrate." Willow said.

"I work till ten tonight and then I'll need to patrol." Buffy said.

"Who will be looking after Dawn?" Giles asked.

"She's spending the night at Janice's. Spike had to work tonight so he couldn't come by."

"You should not be depending on Spike Buffy. You never did before everything that happened. You should not be doing it now. It is not safe nor wise. Single parents everywhere manage to raise a child without the help of a soulless and dangerous master vampire. You are feeding into his obsession with you, something you never would have done before. You would have set him straight before and made it clear that he was to not be around you or Dawn. You must set him straight Buffy before something dangerous and harmful happens. Willow mentioned he still has a key?" Giles said.

"Ya he does. I don't see the big deal about it. He got in without a key plenty of times before." Buffy said with a shrug.

"See all the more reason for me to do that spell so he can't get in, even if Dawn invites him in." Willow said.

"No that wouldn't be safe. What if something happened and Dawn was inside and needed help, but Spike couldn't get in. You are not putting any spells on my house Willow. You've done enough magic." Buffy said.

"It wouldn't take much magic." Willow said.

"That's not the point. No magic on my house or on Spike." Buffy said with a slight snap in her voice.

"I agree. I think a simple conversation will suffice. The sooner the better the both of you will be. Buffy, you must understand I care for you and Dawn I do not wish to see you both being taken advantage of. Spike would love nothing more than to see you weak and vulnerable so he can manipulate you and take advantage of you. Vampires cannot love, it's impossible. What he feels for you is not love, just what his twisted mind believes is love. He will not hesitate to hurt you any way he can. If he does not listen to you then I will be forced to take action to ensure both you and Dawn are safe. I will not tolerate this any longer. I would suggest you speak to him before you go to work." Giles lectured.

"Fine." Buffy said just looking to end the conversation. Buffy turned to head for the door when Xander spoke.

"Hey, where ya going Buffster?"

"I need to now talk to Spike before I go home and get showered and ready to go into work." Buffy said before she kept going to the door and headed out.

Buffy made the walk to Spike's crypt. She didn't know what she was going to say to him. She didn't really want to tell him that he couldn't be coming around anymore. In the past week Spike was the only one really helping her with Dawn and patrolling. Buffy knew that before she had died she wouldn't have let Spike be around so much. But she had died and was dead for five months almost and Spike was the only one that stepped up and took care of Dawn. The others might not see a difference in Spike, but Buffy could see it clear as day. Spike actually did love her and Dawn. Buffy knew that vampires without a soul couldn't feel human emotions and yet Spike felt them all, minus the guilt and remorse. Spike could be happy, hurt, sad, upset, angry and he could love. Buffy knew she shouldn't have Spike around, she didn't want to give him the wrong idea. Yet at the same time she felt better when he was around. She didn't have to be the strong one, the one with all the answers. Spike could be the strong one. The one that took care of things. But he did it in a way that was sweet and caring instead of being condescending or belittling like Angel or Riley used to do. Spike just let her be what she was feeling at the time and he took it on. Whether it was anger or sadness, he was there for her no matter what. Buffy felt like he was the only one truly on her side and had her back. The problem was if Spike was around when the others were there she would never hear the end of it and it was just be more stress.

When Buffy arrived at Spike's crypt she headed inside. She was careful when opening the door as she didn't know where Spike would be sleeping. She didn't want to hit him with the sunlight. Buffy saw that he wasn't in the top part of his crypt. She remembered him telling her how Dawn took a shower here and Buffy figured there must be a downstairs level somewhere. Buffy looked around until she saw the wooden ladder in a drop in the floor. Buffy climbed down and when she got to the bottom was she surprised to see that the whole bottom was filled with furniture. There were large rugs all over the dirt floor. There was a dresser and a couple of chairs down here. There was even a large Queen size bed and four post wooden frame. It was very nice. That was where she found Spike asleep on his back and based on the parts of his body she could see he was naked under the black silk sheets. Buffy went over and saw that Spike was breathing, even though he didn't need to. Buffy knew that Angel never did and part of her wondered why Spike continued to do so. Buffy went over to the bed and called out.

"Spike."

Spike let out a groan at being woken up. He opened his eyes and saw Buffy standing off to the side of his bed. Spike didn't know why she was here so early, he knew it was just barely into the morning if the level of exhaustion was anything to go by.

"Buffy Luv, you alright?" Spike asked trying to wake up.

He had just gotten to sleep a few hours ago after working all night to still help out with the bills. He knew that Buffy was looking for a full-time job, but Spike didn't want her to have to stress about money. He was perfectly fine with being the one to work. He was a Victorian English Gentleman after all. The belief that the man worked to support his family was still very strong in him.

"I just needed to talk to you, but you look really tired. I should go I'm sorry I woke you." Buffy said, but before she could turn and leave Spike gently grabbed her wrist as he spoke.

"Hey now you know better than that Luv. One, I'll never kick you out of my bedroom and two, if you ever need to talk you know I'll be there to listen no matter what time of day it is. Why don't you sit down and tell me what's wrong Luv. I swear I'll be a proper gentleman." Spike said the last part with a smile and dropped his bad boy accent and settle for his proper one that he had when he was human.

It had the effect he was hoping for as Buffy gave a small chuckle and a small smile to it. She went and sat down on the side of the bed while Spike sat up slightly, but the groan didn't go unnoticed.

"You okay?" Buffy asked with a slight concern.

"Fine Luv, just stiff and sore from workin' last night. What's on your mind?"

"I was at the Magic Shop, everyone was there. Dawn went to work. I can't help, but feel like a very sad replacement for mom. She did it all and never made me work. Now Dawn is fifteen and working twenty hours a week so she can have her own money to spend."

"It's not your fault Luv. I know how you feel though. I felt less manly when the Bit came to tell me she was going to be working so I wouldn't have to work so much. It's not how I was raised. I never worked when I was human, I was rich, but still I was raised that the man took care of the women and the household. The woman's job was to enjoy life. It's not your fault though Luv. Your mum had a business, a good successful business, she worked hard and grew into the mum that you had. It didn't happen overnight and she didn't do it after being dead for five months Luv. You have to give yourself some credit here and just try to come to some form of normal between the two of you. Lots of kiddies Niblet's age work part-time. She's tryin' real hard to make you proud. I think she's afraid of all that pain being for nothin'. You died so she could live and she's tryin' to make herself worth you dyin' for."

"I would have done it for anyone. She's my sister of course I would die for her. She was going to jump. I stopped her. She was willing to die to save the world. She didn't even hesitate. I couldn't be prouder of her. I probably should have a conversation with her about everything that happened. Not why I'm here though."

"Why are you here Luv?"

"Giles and everyone has been on my case in the past few days about you being around so much. Willow's been talking about a disinvite spell that would make it only she could invite you in. I told her no, because something could happen to Dawn in the house and you wouldn't be able to get in to help her. They don't want you to have a key. They don't want you to be around Dawn or me. Apparently, they all believe that you are manipulating both of us and trying to take advantage of me while I am weak, that you want to keep me weak."

"Stop right there. I do not want you weak. I don't see you as weak right now. I see you as a survivor. Just because you are strugglin' right now doesn't mean you are weak. Needing help doesn't make you weak Luv. I never want you to be destroyed and weak, because you deserve so much better than that. I love your strength, I love that spark in your eyes when you're enjoyin' a good fight. I love the witty comments you make. I love how you try no matter the odds. It's been a long time since I've seen you happy, since before your mum passed. The last thing I want is you weak. I would never take advantage of you, especially right now. That's not who I am." Spike said with anger and sincerity in his voice,

"I know you wouldn't and I know you aren't manipulating anyone. They just don't believe it. Giles said I had to come and talk to you about staying away or he would be taking care of it. They're getting pretty hostel over it. It might be a good idea for you to keep away from the house a bit."

"Is that what you want Luv?" Spike asked trying to keep the hurt from his voice.

"Not really, but I can't keep listening to the constant lectures. I just got a full-time job at the Doublemeat Palace, I have to work until ten tonight and then patrol. Dawn is staying over with Janice. Giles said that I need to do it on my own like most single parents do. None of them seem really willing to help me. I've been back a week and they have gone out on double dates, going to the Bronze and they just leave me behind. Maybe what Anya said is true. Maybe they really did just bring me back so I could handle everything all over again so they didn't have to. The only one that seems to be helping me is you and they don't want you around. They keep pointing out that I wouldn't have had you around this much before I died and that I shouldn't now. They want me to be the same old Buffy I was before everything that happened, but I can't do that and I don't know if I ever will." Buffy said sounding frustrated and angry.

"It's not about you being your old self Luv. You should be tryin' to find your new self. Who you are now after everything you've been through. They are your mates and should be helpin' you to do that. They should be encouragin' you to do that. You shouldn't be workin', especially in that place and full-time. You have other things you need to focus on. You've been back from the dead a week and already they have been lecturing you and trying to force you into their own beliefs and what they want you to be. Ya there are single parents everywhere, but they have mates and family that help them out. They don't just go at it alone and you shouldn't have to either. You don't deserve their shit. They should be glued to your hip makin' sure you were alright and not leavin' you behind so they can go off and live their lives. They're selfish and I'm sorry, because you deserve better."

"Doesn't matter this is my life and I need to live it. It's an adjustment period and afterwards I'll get used to it." Buffy said and Spike could hear that hopefulness in her voice. It broke Spike's heart, because he knew it wouldn't be okay. Getting into a routine wouldn't change how she felt.

"What do you want me to do Luv?" Spike asked with patience in his voice.

"Maybe just stay back a while. Once they see that you aren't influencing me or whatever then they'll stop lecturing me about it. I just can't keep listening to it. I'm so pissed off all the time around them it's taking everything in me to not hit them."

"Alright Luv I'll keep my distance from the house. Can't stop the Niblet comin' to see me. I won't. I'm still gonna help you with the bills. That's not gonna change."

"Willow is working as a magic tutor. She said she would help out with the bills. I should be okay."

"You know where I'll be if not. Seein' as we're sharin' there is somethin' you need to know." Spike said slightly unsure.

"It's not the end of the world again is it?" Buffy asked with dread.

"No Luv. The thing is the chip don't work no more."

"How?" Buffy asked shocked and filled with dread.

"Trip off the tower. Smashed my head on the ground pretty good. Malfunctioned or somethin' cuz it don't work no more. Found out when a group of thugs tried to get at the Niblet one night. I haven't killed anyone or bit anyone I swear it. But you should know about it."

"Why haven't you if you can?"

"Know you wouldn't want me to. The Bit wouldn't want me to. I'm loyal to you both. I'm not lookin' to betray either of you, dead or alive. You don't have to worry about me doin' somethin' bad Luv."

"Ok."

"Ok? That's it?" Spike said shocked.

"If you were going to kill and feed you would have done it for the past five months. You're not gonna start now. So okay. I need to get going home. I have to go to work." Buffy said with a shrug.

"Come by later if you want. I'll be around." Spike said.

"Thanks. Sorry to wake you."

"Anytime Luv."

Buffy got up off the bed and headed back up the ladder and out of the crypt. Spike hated that Buffy was feeling like this. Even worse knowing he couldn't do anything to fix it right now as it was sunlight outside. He would have to wait until the sun went down before he finally set a few things straight. With nothing else to do Spike laid back down to get some much needed sleep. Tonight he would take care of this mess.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was just after sunset when the door to the Magic Shop opened and Spike stormed in. Xander had been standing as he was walking back to sit down at the table. When Spike walked in Giles stood up and Spike could see the annoyance and anger on his face. Spike didn't care though, he was angrier.

"Spike, I thought it was made quite clear to you that you are not welcome around here." Giles said.

Spike didn't say anything he just grabbed Xander by the neck with his left hand and grabbed Giles by the neck with his right hand. He slammed them both against the one wall. Willow shot up and started to chant under her breath, but Spike could hear her clearly. He snapped his head to look at her and spoke a single Latin word.

"Silentium."

Willow's voice instantly stopped and she couldn't get her voice out. She looked at Spike shocked.

"You're not the only one that knows magic Little Witch." Spike growled out before he turned a deadly look to Anya. "Don't even think about."

Anya put her hands up in the air in a defense manner. She knew better than to piss off a Master Vampire who didn't appear to be in pain at the physical pain he had caused Xander and Giles.

"What are you doing?" Xander forced out with a tight voice.

"We're gonna have a chat. Now as you can see I can hurt you as much as I'd like without any pain for me. Chip stopped workin' after that tumble off the tower and yes the Slayer knows about it and no I haven't hurt or killed anyone. I still drink that disgusting animal blood. I've had enough of the bullshit. You can say what you want to me, I can take it. But you don't get to stress and lecture Buffy over my helpin' her and takin' care of the Bit. None of you are doin' it and she can't do it alone. Not after everyhtin' that happened."

"You're a soulless monster." Giles forced out as he tried to pry Spike's hand off his neck, but he was no match to the Master Vampire's strength.

"I'm the soulless monster eh? I'm the one that stepped up to take care of the Bit when no one else would. You were her Watcher, you should have been there for the Bit. You should have moved in that house to take care of her. Instead you ran away like a pathetic coward. And you're no better." Spike said as he turned his look to Xander. "She was your best mate and you slapped her in the face, betrayed her. You all blamed a fifteen year old girl who didn't ask to be here. Who didn't ask to be made from some mystic energy that could destroy the world. You lot blamed an innocent girl who couldn't take care of herself. Two weeks she spent alone in that house. Two weeks. The lights were cut off, the water, she had no food. She had to steal food just to eat. No one called her back, no once checked in on her. She came to me after two weeks starvin' and dirty. You lot did that to an innocent fifteen year old girl, to Buffy's sister. Then you bring her back from the dead without checkin' to make sure she was in Hell, and how do you repay her for all the sacrifices she's given you lot? You push off all the responsibilities onto her and walk away. You treat her like she is nothin' but some weapon you can toss away. So which one of us is the soulless monster in the room?"

Spike let them go and they slid down to the floor. Spike looked down at them as he spoke again.

"You don't want me around em, takin' care of them. Then you step up and do it. You both are supposedly the men in the group. It's your job to take care of the women. It's your job to support them and help them. Being a Slayer doesn't magically make her able to handle everythin'. She woke up in a grave, her grave, she punched her way out of her coffin while she fought for breath. She could have died in that coffin. Quit being assholes, quit being garbage and help the girl out before her mind turns so dark you'll never get her back. You keep goin' this way you'll lose her all over again and no spell will be powerful enough to bring her back. Consider this your only warnin' from me. Next time there will be blood and you won't be gettin' back up." Spike said in a deadly tone as he turned.

He looked at Tara who was clearly shaken up. He pointed a finger at her as he spoke.

"I expected better from you. You're an Earth Witch you know better than to let your little bird over here play with forces like this. You know what road she's headin' down and if you keep being submissive and puttin' your head down the world is in for a lot of hurt. You know it. Grow a backbone Glinda and do it fast."

Spike turned and headed for the front door. He muttered a word under his breath before he left, slamming the door behind him.

"Who the hell does he think he is?" Willow said with pure rage in her voice.

"Someone who's right." Xander said with a hoarse voice before he coughed.

Anya went over to him with concern on her face.

"Are you okay?" Anya asked.

"I'll be fine." Xander said.

"Are you okay Giles?" Tara asked.

"I'm fine." Giles said as he went over to the table to sit down.

"How can you say that he was right? After what he just did? He can hurt people again. He needs to be killed. There's nothing stopping him from feeding." Willow said with anger.

"I don't think he is. There was always blood bags in the fridge. If he was feeding off people he wouldn't need them. Plus he wouldn't want to do that to Dawnie or Buffy." Tara said.

"And he was right. We did abandon Dawnie. We left her alone in that house for two weeks before you both moved in. I didn't check in on her. I thought you guys were. I ignored her calls, I ignored her because it hurt too damn much. We all blamed her and abandoned her. I didn't know the bills weren't being paid. I didn't know there was no food in there. It took her two weeks before she came to someone for help and she picked Spike over us. We let this happen." Xander said with self-hate in his voice.

"We were busy trying to get Buffy out of Hell. You can't blame yourself for that." Willow said.

"I thought you checked." Tara said softly.

"What baby?" Willow asked.

"I thought you checked before you even begun to figure out the resurrection spell." Tara said more clearly this time.

"She fell into a Hell portal. She went to Hell and I wasn't about to just leave her there. We have a more serious issue here. Spike, dangerous William the Bloody, killed two Slayers, is now without his chip and apparently knows basic magic. Buffy needs to know so she can take care of it. He needs to be dust." Willow said with anger in her voice.

"You're just mad because he was able to stop you." Anya said.

"Willow, does make a valid point. Spike is dangerous and I have never read any texts where it refers to him doing magic." Giles said with concern.

"Spike is one of many demons that can do magic. Demon magic is stronger and more powerful than normal dark magic users because of the demonic within them. In Spike's case though he was human with magic abilities that was passed down from his father. Not much is known about his father other than he was killed doing some kind of ritual. Spike doesn't like magic, he hates it and he rarely ever uses it. Most of the time he forgets that he could use it. He really doesn't like using it or magic in general. The magic within him stayed when he was turned, it got stronger again because of the demon." Anya explained.

"That would explain why he knows so much about it. His father's death during a magic ritual would also explain his hatred towards it and his caution when using it for anything." Giles said.

"He could be using in on Dawnie or Buffy for all we know." Willow said.

"Oh no Spike wouldn't do that. He really hates magic. Like passionately. That was as much magic he has used in like fifty years." Anya said as if that was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard.

"I don't care about Spike. He's right. We screwed up. Giles you left the day after Buffy's funeral and the rest of us ignored Dawnie and blamed her for Buffy's death. We shouldn't have. Now Buffy is back and all we've done is told her how to get over what happened and push everything back on her. We've been going out and having fun while Buffy is stuck at home with Dawnie. We screwed up. We need to make it right." Xander said as he turned to head out.

"Where are you going?" Anya asked.

"To make it right. I'm going to the house to make sure it's cleaned up and everything is working. I'm going to make sure there is food there and then I'm going to the Doublemeat Palace and waiting for Buffy to get off work so I can patrol with her. I'm not letting this go on any longer. I'm not losing my best friend again." Xander said as he turned around and left the Magic Shop.

"Giles, you can't seriously be thinking that Spike was right. This is Spike we are talking about here. Bottle in your face, going to kill me Spike. He can't be trusted, now more than ever. He has access to Buffy's house. He could kill them when they are asleep if he wanted to. We have to do something." Willow said with anger.

"I would agree that Spike not having a chip is a serious issue, one that needs to be dealt with. However, he does have the right to be angry at all of our behaviour towards Dawn after Buffy's death. I do believe that my actions towards Buffy since coming back have been for her benefit. She needs to be able to handle living the life that she has now and that including balancing working, Dawn's care and patrol. The longer she procrastinates the harder it will be for her to adapt to the new routine and life. She has to move passed what happened to her so Dawn can have a more stable life." Giles said.

"She's not alone. Tara and me are living there and we can help with paying rent. She just needs some time to adjust that's all. Spike had no right to attack you both like that or to use magic on me. Something needs to be done." Willow said with determination.

"Yes well. I will figure out what to do about Spike. For now I need a good stiff drink back at my home. I will see you three tomorrow." Giles said as he stood up.

"You should put some ice on your neck to help with any swelling." Tara suggested.

"Yes thank-you I will do just that." Giles said.

"Goodnight Giles." Willow said.

"Goodnight everyone." Giles said as he headed out of the Magic Shop.

He didn't know that part about Dawn being on her own for two weeks at first. He was angry at the others and himself for doing that to Dawn. He thought the others would be able to take care of her. He knew it wasn't Dawn's fault, yet his mind automatically blamed the poor girl who had her whole world blown up in front of her in a matter of months. Giles should have handled it better and the others should as well. Now they were being forced to deal with the aftermath of their actions. Giles didn't know what to do about Spike and how close he was to Dawn and getting to Buffy. Giles didn't like it at all. Even if Spike was different from Angel, that didn't change the fact that he was still deadly, now more than ever. He couldn't allow this to continue on. Something needed to be done.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was just after ten o'clock that night when Buffy walked out of the Doublemeat Palace. She had changed out of the ugly orange uniform and was now wearing just jeans and a black sweater for a patrol. When she walked out she saw Xander standing there and he gave her a small smile when he saw her.

"Xander, what are you doing here?" Buffy asked with no emotions in her voice.

She was exhausted from working and not sleeping much. Plus she smelt like a fast food joint and wanted nothing more than to take a long hot bath to get the stench off from herself. She didn't want to deal with Xander and whatever lecture he brought with him.

"I come in peace and with sugary treats." Xander said with an awkward smile as he held up the white bag with powdered mini donuts in it. Buffy's favorite.

"Still doesn't answer my question." Buffy said as she crossed her arms and clearly still guarded.

"Let's just say I got an attitude adjustment strangled into me. Come the morning I will have very pretty bruises I'm sure."

"What? Someone strangled you?" Buffy asked confused.

"It's fine. I'm fine. Spike just came into the Magic Shop after sunset to set a few things straight, things that needed to be set straight. I didn't even try to hit him afterwards. Look Buff, I'm sorry for being a disappointing friend. I'm sorry for letting you down like I have. I should have been the man in Dawn's life. I should have stepped up and not Spike. I just… I just kept thinking it should have been her that died. And I know it's not her fault I do, but at the time I didn't feel like that and it was just easier to ignore and avoid her than say something I couldn't take back and make it worse." Xander said with remorse in his voice.

"She was alone for two weeks Xander. She had to steal food. If it wasn't for Spike helping her who knows what could have happened to her. She's okay and well taken care of because of him. Yet all you guys do in the past week is lecture me about Spike being around us. He's the only one that feels like he's on my side here and even then I went to see him this morning like I was told and told him to keep a distance from us. I hurt him, because you guys couldn't handle it. He understood, but it still hurt him. That's not how you repay someone for keeping your sister alive."

"I know, but I didn't know Willow and Tara hadn't been around. I wasn't around either of them either for those first two weeks. Honestly, I had no idea and if I did I would have made sure she had food. I'm sorry for the way I've been since what happened and this past week. I guess I just thought everything would be okay and back to normal when we got you back. I didn't think it would be that hard on you and that was stupid of me. I'm sorry Buff, really I am. You need a guy, I'm your guy. Full heartedly, I'm there for you."

"You can't make it better by saying you're sorry and bringing me donuts Xan. You really hurt Dawn and let me down, you betrayed me. That's not something you can just sweep under the rug and move on from."

"I know and I will forever be sorry. I'll make it up to you I swear. From now on it's helpful guy all the way. Starting with helping you patrol tonight."

Buffy looked at Xander and she could tell he meant his words. The problem was she didn't care to hear them. She was so pissed and working today only made that anger worse. She was already sick of this life and it had just started all over again. She was stuck here though so she had to try whether she liked it or not. Buffy gave a small smile as she spoke.

"Let's go then."

"Right with you." Xander said with a smile, like all was forgiven.

They headed off for the first graveyard with Xander talking about anything and everything he could think of to fill the silence. Buffy ate a few of the mini donuts and added a few words here and there to make it look like she was listening and interested. When really she was counting down the minutes until she could be alone once again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It wasn't until three in the morning when finally everyone was asleep. Willow came down the stairs and into the living room. She had a few things in her arms that she needed for a spell. She went over to the coffee table and placed the items down. She began her spell a moment later when she didn't hear anyone moving around upstairs. She whispered softly as she put the ingredients into one of her bowls in the proper order. Once the spell was finished a pale yellow fog went over to the door and hovered for a moment before seeping into the door. Willow smiled once it was gone signally that the spell was complete. Now Spike wouldn't be allowed into the house unless she invited him in. Keeping him out of the house and from killing them all in their sleep. It was also one step closer to getting Spike out of their lives and Buffy and Dawn free from his manipulation. With a smile on her face Willow gathered her things and headed up the stairs to go back to bed.

 **14 Days After Resurrection**

It was just before sunset when Buffy finally got to sit down on the couch. She had just worked a double shift after working all day yesterday then going on patrol only to be called in for the night shift and then working her scheduled shift right after. By the time she got home she went straight into the shower. She had to patrol soon once again before she had the early morning shift at work again. She had barely eaten anything in the past two days and she knew that she should eat something, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. She was alone currently, but she knew that Dawn would be back home soon. She was out with a few friends and said she would be back before the sun went down. Spike was gonna come by and stay with Dawn tonight while she was out patrolling. The others had been more helpful in a way since Spike's little visit to them. Buffy heard all about it from Willow the next day. No one was helping her with the bills, or with patrolling. They were around more and they came with her on patrol, but they didn't offer to go do it for her so she could get some decent sleep one night. They didn't offer to watch Dawn for a few hours so she could go out and enjoy some time at the Bronze to relax. Despite them being around more Buffy still felt very alone. The only time she didn't was when she was around Dawn or Spike. It still felt like they were the only ones that had her back and were there for her no matter what.

The front door opened and Buffy looked to see who it was. She was relieved to see that it was Dawn and not one of the others. They hadn't had much of a chance to talk one-on-one as there was normally someone else around. Buffy gave Dawn a small smile as she spoke.

"Hey Dawnie. Did you have fun?"

"I did. We just hung out at the mall and grabbed some lunch. What about you?" Dawn asked.

"Worked a double. I haven't slept yet since yesterday. I got home from patrol and got the call to go back in." Buffy said with exhaustion in her voice.

"I could work more to help you out with the bills. I know it's a lot with the back debt from the hospital and everything. I could work more and help you out so you wouldn't have to work as much." Dawn said not liking how exhausted Buffy always seemed to be.

"That's really sweet of you, I mean that. But you're still doing school work and you are already working twenty hours. You're fifteen, you should be having fun and not working. Willow and Tara are supposed to help with the bills and you know Spike will. I just need some sleep and I'll be fine. There is something I want to talk to you about before the others get here though."

Dawn went over and sat down on the couch facing Buffy.

"Is something wrong?" Dawn asked with worry.

"Not any more than usual. I wanted to talk to you about when I was dead. About what happened and how you're feeling about it all. It doesn't take a genius to see that you aren't too happy with the others."

"You aren't either. They don't even notice it, but I do. I meant what I said, if it hadn't been for Spike I would have been homeless. I could be dead right now. It's hard for me to just go right back to how everything used to be before this whole situation. I mean, clearly they never really cared for me. I was just your annoying little sister and then I was this mystical energy and then finally the reason for your death. They were never really my friends. That was made pretty clear once you were gone."

"You were alone for the first two weeks, Spike said you had to steal food once and there was no lights or water."

"Ya. I felt bad for stealing some bread and milk, but I didn't have anything to eat. I have never been so scared. Standing in that grocery store with the bread and milk under my coat. I don't know what I would have done if I got caught. My heart was pounding in my chest. After I started working I went down to that store and bought a bunch of food for the food bank to try and make up for it. It was a really hard two weeks. I called them, but they didn't answer. I left messages and they never called me back. I knew Spike had been injured so I didn't want to bother him during the first two weeks, but I couldn't do it anymore. I went to him and he had basically been drinking himself to death. He barely ate anything, he was thinner and he didn't look good. He was just so heartbroken over what happened. He blamed himself for losing that fight. The first fight he lost in a long time and it was the one he needed to win, no matter what. To Spike it was his fault that you died. He still blames himself. He tried his best though. It was just one of those things that happened. I'll never forget the guilt in his eyes right before he was pushed off the tower. How anyone can say he doesn't have emotions I'll never understand. He feels everything. He loves me like a sister. He really does."

"I know he does. He's different from other vampires, he always has been. I was just too blind to see it. I'm not anymore though, dying really did show me who I could depend on and who I can't. I thought that I would be leaving you with a family. That you wouldn't be on your own, they would look after you and be there for you. I'm glad Spike was."

"He did it because he loves me, he loves you. I know you don't feel that way for him, but he would do anything for you. He can hurt humans again, but he won't, because he won't hurt and betray you like that. He shouldn't be the one not allowed here. He should be the one with a key and not Willow and Tara." Dawn said with anger.

"You don't want them here?"

"I didn't even know they were moving in. They didn't talk to me about it, they literally just showed up one day and moved in. And like an idiot I thought, hey things will be better now. That night they didn't even spend the night here, they went out to celebrate at the Bronze with everyone and they left me here. I don't know what their plan was, because they weren't working so I don't know how they were thinking they were going to pay the bills and food. They didn't even question it when they were being paid or when the fridge just magically had food in it every week. Spike made it happen and how did everyone thank him? They left their dirty dishes in the sink. They left a mess everywhere and Spike cleaned it up when he should have been sleeping. They ignored him or said horrible things to him. He still came around and took care of everything. They put it all on him and treated him horribly. Now it seems like they are doing it to you." Dawn said with anger in her voice.

"They are around more and helping out. It's just an adjustment period. Spike said he thought about taking you away."

"Hell I asked him to, but he said that you wouldn't like it if we left the others behind to be hurt. It sucked, but I understood. I started to work on my school work so I could graduate early so I could leave."

"You wouldn't have missed your friends if you left?"

"Can always make new friends. Friends come and go, family is real and they stay with you and support you. Spike is my family and he's there for me just like I am there for him. That's what counts in life. The family you have and not the number of friends that could leave once something gets hard."

"When did you become so smart?" Buffy asked with a small smile.

"Um like always." Dawn said with a smile.

Before anymore could be said the front door opened and Xander, Anya, Willow and Tara walked into the house. They all filed into the living room as Xander spoke.

"Hey guys, how are ya?"

"Tired." Buffy said.

"Fine." Dawn said.

"I thought you were going to be spending the night with one of your friends Dawnie." Willow said.

"No just went out for the day." Dawn said.

"Oh, well Buffy when are you going patrolling?" Willow asked.

"Same time as always. Why?" Buffy asked.

"We were going to go out for dinner and a drink. But Dawnie could stay by herself for a few hours while you are patrolling right? I mean she's fifteen." Willow said.

"You don't have to worry about me Spike will be over soon. We're having dinner and watching movies." Dawn said keeping her voice even and not letting the anger out.

"Perfect." Anya said with a smile.

"I don't know if you should be alone with Spike Dawnie. With his chip not working it wouldn't be safe for you to be alone with him." Xander said with concern in his voice.

"His chip hasn't worked since the night he got pushed off the tower. If he was going to kill me he would have done it when no one else was even around for almost five months. He's not gonna hurt me, he would never hurt me." Dawn said with strength in her voice.

Willow was about to comment when the front door opened followed by a curse. They all turned to see Spike standing on the outside of the door unable to walk through it.

"Spike, what are you doing? Come in." Dawn said confused.

"Love to, can't. Somethin' you wanna tell me Luv?" Spike asked as he looked at Buffy.

"No, you should be able to just walk in like always." Buffy said as she stood up.

"It's like I've never been invited into your house before." Spike said.

"Well come in Spike." Buffy said.

Spike tried to walk in and again hit a barrier.

"What is going on?" Dawn asked now standing as well.

"Best ask the Witch what she did." Spike said with anger in his voice.

"Did you put up that spell that I specifically told you not to?" Buffy asked with anger in her voice.

"I had to protect us, you weren't going to. He doesn't have a chip anymore Buffy and he doesn't have a soul. There is nothing keeping him from killing all of us at any point. So yes a week ago I put up the spell so we could all sleep at night without having to worry about a vampire coming into this house and kill us." Willow said with anger right back.

"You had no right to put up a spell on my house." Buffy said.

"I had every right, I live here; Tara lives here. We have every right to feel safe within this house. And now we are. I won't apologise for keeping us all safe. You would have agreed with me before everything that happened. You would have killed him or at the very least made him leave town. He's taking advantage of you and the situation. You need to see that."

"I'm not takin' advantage of anything or anyone. You lot are the ones that have the monopoly on that." Spike growled out.

"Look Buff, Willow does have a point. With Spike now being dangerous again, him not being in the house isn't a bad thing. We can't trust him." Xander said calmly.

"If he was going to kill any of you it would have been while I was dead." Buffy argued back.

"Buffy, even Giles agrees with me doing this. I'm not changing my mind. There is nothing that you or anyone could say that would make me change my mind. The spell stays. I'm not inviting him in or taking it down." Willow said with stubbornness in her voice.

Spike could see Buffy fuming and he knew that he needed to calm her down before she exploded.

"It's fine Luv. Don't need to be in the house to see the Bit."

"That's not the point." Buffy said with a calm anger.

"I know Luv, but it's the point we're at. Come on Niblet let's go grab some dinner. You eaten yet Luv?"

"No." Buffy said with a tight voice.

"Come on dinner my treat. Afterwards I can help you patrol before I go to work." Spike offered.

"Buffy, clearly he is trying to take advantage of you and the situation. You know better than this." Willow said.

"What I know is that this is the last place I want to be right now. That you once again, did something I told you not to. Come on Dawn." Buffy said with a deadly anger.

Both Buffy and Dawn grabbed their coats and headed out of the house and walked down the steps with Spike.

"Buffy think about this please." Willow said.

"Leave me alone." Buffy said.

The three of them headed down the street and towards the small downtown area of town. They walked down the side walk for a good five blocks with no one saying anything when Spike finally said something.

"Alright which one of you birds is gonna chirp first?"

"What?" Dawn asked.

"I can hear both of your anger pumpin' your blood. Might as well get it out now before we sit down and eat."

"I can't believe she just did that behind our backs. She's all like I live here too, well no one asked her to. They just showed up after two weeks and were like 'hey we live here now'. She can't just put up a spell and keep you out." Dawn said with anger.

"I told her not to do it. That I didn't want it up in case something happened while Dawn was in the house and she needed help. Now I can't get the spell down and only Willow can invite you in, which she won't because she believes I'm nuts or whatever and being taken advantage of. Like I don't know how to feel and how to think." Buffy said with anger.

"Like who does she think she is? She raises the dead and now she's all like I can do whatever I want with magic. And Xander is all for it because he's never liked you plus that whole chocking against the wall thing, but still he totally deserved it." Dawn said without giving Spike a chance to speak.

"He shows up to my work with mini donuts and is all I'm your guy, you need something, hey your guy right here. I needed him to tell Willow she has gone too far and to back me up. But nope not my guy tonight is he? They are going out to dinner and have drinks and what does Buffy get? To patrol and then sleep before going back to work where I smell so bad vampires are running away from me. That's what Buffy gets."

"And what is that whole, you can stay on your own right Dawn thing? She didn't care I was on my own for two weeks straight. She didn't care about all the nights she left and I was there all alone. Cooking, cleaning, doing homework. Suddenly you're back alive and now it's a big deal if I'm alone at night."

Both Buffy and Dawn let out a huff at the same time and Spike waited a moment before he spoke.

"Glad we got that out of the way. Look, Red is getting' on the road to a power trip. We can't stop it only she can or Glinda, but I don't see that happenin'. It's not the first time I've bene locked out of the house. Been here before and I still was able to see and spend time with Niblet. It's an annoyance. We'll work it out. Niblet can be at mine when you need someone to keep an eye on her or when you need a night off she can crash there. We'll figure it out. You birds need to relax."

"I'm not sure how happy I am with you calling us birds." Buffy said.

"Why not? Birds are beautiful, graceful, intelligent, happy, lovely voices and free. They don't like where they are they fly to a new area. Worst things in the world to be than a bird Luv." Spike said.

"Wouldn't that be awesome? To just fly away one day when you get bored of one area. Just opened your arms and away you go." Dawn said.

"You won't be able to fly yourself, but still possible to have that life one day Niblet. Work hard in school and you'll be able to." Spike said.

"I was angry five minutes ago, now I'm not damn you." Buffy said with a small pout.

Spike gave a chuckle. "Nice to know I can piss you off and calm you down Luv."

"You are very good at the pissing off part." Buffy agreed.

"Got over a century of experience pissing women off Luv." Spike said with a smirk.

"And over a century of keeping crazy Drusilla in line." Dawn said with a smirk.

"Watch it." Spike warned.

"Where are we going for dinner?" Dawn asked.

"Lady's choice." Spike said.

"Not burgers or anything fast food related." Buffy automatically said.

"Chinese?" Dawn offered.

"Ya ok." Buffy said.

"Chinese it is." Spike said.

They headed to the restaurant in comfortable silence. Spike was getting more worried about Buffy and her anger. She didn't seem to be getting better, she actually seemed to be getting worse and he didn't know what to do. Spike knew that anger was a deadly game. If you constantly kept it down inside of you it would one day just explode, but it wouldn't hurt just her, but everyone that was around her when it did explode. Spike could also tell she still wasn't one hundred percent at full health and she wasn't eating enough or sleeping enough. Everything in Spike was screaming for him to take care of her, but her friends weren't going to allow it. Spike also didn't know if Buffy would either. Spike had no problem being the typical male and taking care of the woman. He grew up in that era. He had no problem working to pay the bills so Buffy wouldn't have to worry. That's just how he loved, he loved with everything in him. He wanted to protect Buffy and take care of her. He wanted her to understand that it was okay to let someone else be the strong one until she was ready again. The problem was Spike didn't think she would ever be willing to do it. She would continue on suffering in silence and letting the anger burn and burn until one day it would burn her up from the inside out.

 **21 Days After Resurrection**

Buffy was sitting on her bed still with the covers on her and in her pajamas at seven o'clock that night. She had called in sick today, losing out on a twelve hour shift. She knew she shouldn't have done it, but she just couldn't bring herself to get out of bed today. Dawn had went to spend the day and night with Spike as he was off to give Buffy a break in case she wanted to go out after patrol. He even offered to patrol for her, but Buffy didn't like the idea of Dawn going with him or sitting in the crypt alone. When Willow came by to see if she was awake for her shift Buffy simply told her she didn't have work today and that she was tired and wanted to be left alone. She had been alone ever since. Willow and Tara heading out and had yet to return.

Buffy had been so exhausted all day she couldn't even bring herself to do anything, but lay down in bed. The problem was she couldn't even sleep. She had been so exhausted ever since she was brought back from the dead, but she could barely sleep and it was getting worse as each day went by. She was finding it harder and harder to get through the day. She was showing up to work late. She was finding herself making easy mistakes while on patrol. She wasn't as fast as she normally is. She just couldn't get into it. Before she loved the excitement that a good fight could bring, but now she had to force herself to leave the house to do it. The only reason even making her leave was that someone innocent could die and even that was getting harder and harder to justify. She saves one life tonight while another thousand are killed before she even gets home. It all just seemed so pointless.

Everything seemed pointless to Buffy. She knew that she wasn't depressed. She should have been depressed she was ripped out of Heaven, but she wasn't. She was so angry and it was taking everything out of her. Everything in her to not scream at her friends for ripping her out of Heaven. For acting like everything was all okay and they didn't need to help or stress over anything. The anger was getting hotter and hotter inside of her and it was taking everything out of her. Buffy forced herself up and out of her bed. She got changed into some baggy jeans and a sweater before putting on some running shoes. She couldn't be bothered to wear anything else to patrol in. She put her hair up and headed out of her bedroom and out of the house not even bothering to put on any makeup. Buffy made a slow walk towards the first cemetery. When she did even arrive to it, twenty minutes later, she walked in a few rows before sitting down on a tombstone. Buffy let out a sigh and just sat there looking around the empty cemetery willing herself to just get up and do her patrol so she could go back home and sleep.

 **28 Days After Resurrection**

Buffy slammed her bedroom door so hard she was shocked that it didn't fall right off. She had never been this pissed off before in her life. She had overheard Willow talking about doing a spell to make her forget about dying and about everything Spike had done for Dawn. Willow wanted to actually do another spell to manipulate her into forgetting about the level of care Spike had for Dawn while she was dead. And for what? Because Willow felt that she was being manipulated and taken advantage of by Spike because she didn't want to be around the others hardly anymore. Because she wasn't happy go lucky Buffy and so grateful for everything Willow did to get her out of the "Hell" she was in. Willow actually wanted her to be grateful for being ripped right out of Heaven, paradise, and stuck back in hell on Earth.

Buffy had never been this pissed before. Not only was Willow thinking about manipulating her mind with magic, but rent was due and she didn't help pay the rent. Claiming that she didn't have the money because she had school expenses she needed to pay and supplies to get for work. Thankfully Spike had been working and was able to cover Willow's half so Buffy didn't have to be flat broke all over again. Spike also used his money to buy food for a place he's not even living in, a place he can't even step foot in. Buffy's mind was just so full of rage she could barely think. She could barely breathe. She felt like she was burning up from the inside. She hated them all. Just seeing their faces brought the rage even worse. Buffy couldn't do it anymore. She couldn't sit there and put on this fake smile and suck it all up. She couldn't hold the anger in any longer. She didn't want this life. She didn't ask for this life. She did her duty for years, longer than other Slayers lasted. She died already once and was brought back to life she didn't ask for it again. She didn't want it. She wasn't going to have it.

Buffy went over to her desk and picked up one of her knives that she had in her desk drawer. She gripped it hard in her right hand and placed it against her left wrist ready to cut it all the way down and welcome the darkness that would follow. After that it would be light and warm and safe. She would be at peace and they wouldn't be able to bring her back this time. This time she could have her deserved reward for all of the pain she had been through. Buffy's eyes looked up and saw the picture of her, Dawn and their mom. They were all smiling and had their arms around each other. They were younger, before Buffy had become a Slayer. When her life was happy and easy. When she could just live and enjoy life. Buffy couldn't remember what that felt like. What it felt like to not have to be the one in charge. To not have to be the strong one. To just find who she was outside of being a Slayer. To find what life truly was supposed to feel like. She looked at Dawn's young and smiling face and she threw the knife across the room and it embedded into the wall near her window. Buffy was breathing heavy and hard. She leaned her back against the desk and closed her eyes. She needed to get her breathing back under control. To get the anger under control before she did something she would soon regret.

She wanted that peace, she wanted to die. But more of her wanted to die just to spite her friends. She was too angry, she was exploding and Dawn would be the one to pay for it. Dawn, who was doing everything she could to survive and keep moving forward with hopes that one day in the future it would be all worth it. Innocent Dawn who didn't deserve to bury her sister twice. Just like Spike didn't deserve that pain. They would blame him. They wouldn't even hesitate to do it, they would blame him and make his life a living hell. It would destroy them both and that was something Buffy couldn't bring herself to do. But she was done. She wasn't doing this anymore. She was going to take back her life. She was going to figure out how to live. And she wasn't going to do it here.

Buffy pushed off from her desk and she started to pace around. She needed a plan. She needed to get out here and far away. She didn't know if she would ever come back, but didn't care. This stopped being home when she died, when her mother died in it. This was just a house sucking her dry. She had to leave, her and Dawn had to leave. But she had to make sure the others didn't find her. She needed some way that could block out Willow's powerful magic. Buffy started to make a list in her mind of what she needed to do. She needed to quit her job and collect whatever money she was owed. She needed to then go to a lawyer and get the money in her college fund transferred into a secret account that couldn't be traced back to her so Willow couldn't hack into anything to find her. She needed a way to make them invisible to Willow's magic. She needed to sell this house and everything in it, plus the gallery. She would need to set it up with a real estate agent. And then when everything was all set she would get Dawn and they would leave.

First thing was first, the magic blocker. Buffy grabbed her purse and she headed out of the house. Buffy didn't know what she needed to do to block magic and she couldn't exactly ask any of her friends. Buffy figured she would go to Willy's and see who he knew. Buffy walked quickly. She was in a hurry to get this started and get it done. The sooner she had everything done and set up the sooner she and Dawn would be out of this town and away from all of the anger. Maybe if she wasn't here and around her friends she could heal from what happened. She could maybe find a way to be happy. Buffy practically ran to Willy's dirty bar and when she got there she went right in. The place was empty as it was still daylight outside and most demons didn't come out until nightfall. Buffy walked right up to the bar and Willy put his hands in the air in a defense move and spoke quickly.

"I don't know anything about anyone I swear."

"I'm not here to hurt you as long as you help me out."

"With what?" Willy asked unsure.

"I need something that I can use to block a strong witch's magic from affecting me and finding me."

"Well I can't give you anything for that. You would need a stronger magic user."

"And who would that be?"

"Depends on how strong this other witch is."

"Strong enough to raise the dead."

Willy whistled to that before he spoke. "Then you need some powerful Warlock. Rax you need Rax. He's the strongest magic user in the state. You see him and he'll give you what you need. His place is normally cloaked, but its daylight so you'll be able to feel it. It's down on Fifth and Vine. He'll take care of you."

"Thanks." Buffy said before she turned to leave.

Buffy headed out and went straight down to Fifth and Vine. She needed this taken care of quickly and she didn't know how long it could take for everything to be ready. She wanted to leave now, but she knew it wouldn't be that simple. She had to make sure it worked out perfectly so nothing could screw up later. She didn't want Willow to be able to find them so it had to be perfect. Once she arrived she went straight in. She walked in and saw that it was like a little waiting room, but Buffy wasn't waiting. She went through the next door and saw a man passed out in a chair. Buffy went over to him and kicked his boot as she spoke loudly.

"Hey you Rax?"

The man jerked awake and looked up at Buffy. Once he saw her he gave her a creepy smile as he spoke.

"Well sunshine what brings someone of the light like you in my place?"

"So you know who I am?"

"Someone as full of Heaven's light can't ever be mistaken sweet biscuit. What brings you down here in the darkness?"

"I've been told you're the most powerful warlock in the state. I'm hoping that's true."

"That it is sweet biscuit. What can I do for you?"

"I need something like a cloaking spell or something." Buffy said clearly not sure what she needed.

"What do you need it for, then maybe I can figure out what to give you."

"I need something that will keep my location and two others hidden from a powerful witch. Something that could work to keep us from having her magic used on us."

"How many people?"

"Three, but one's a vampire and the other was made from mystic energy. Does that matter?"

"Just have to adjust for the different factor. When do you need it by?"

"You can't just do it real quick now?"

"Fraid not sweet biscuit. This will take a little bit of time to perfect with it not being just you or normal humans."

"How fast can you do it?"

"Two days max."

"Fine, do it. How much?"

"For Heaven's light like you, just a smile. Remember this should I ever come knockin' on your door."

"You won't be able to find me."

"I'll always be able to find your light sweet biscuit. Can't hide that brightness from me. Two days I'll have what you need."

"Thanks."

Rax gave a small simple nod and Buffy turned and left. She was upset that it would take two days, but it was better than not being possible. Now she had two days to get everything set up so they could disappear. Buffy knew she should have asked Spike first if he would even be willing to leave with them, but she knew without a doubt that he would do anything for them. If they were both leaving, Spike had no reason to stay. Buffy headed to her work to quit and on the way she called the lawyer that handled her mother's will and estate. Once she had an appointment with him in two hours she called a real estate agent to make an appointment to handle the rest. In two days she would be leaving and she was never going to be coming back.


	3. Follow Me- Update

Hello there!

I have begun a collection of new books for all ages from children's picture books to adult series that are being published online. You can connect with me and find out more information through my social media pages. I am working on finishing my novel called Satanic Inferno. It will be published through Kobo on March 1st, 2017. Check out my Facebook page for more information and a 10% discount code for the first few days of the release.

You have all followed me on Fanfiction and I am hoping you will continue to follow me now that I have transitioned into writing and publishing my own novels. But fear not I am still going to be working on Fanfiction and finishing all of my stories. I'm not going anywhere in that sense. All support would be greatly appreciated.

Thank-you so much to all of my loyal followers. Without you none of this would have been possible! If you have any questions or would like a sneak peek of my novel please Message me and I will send it your way.

Facebook: DianneRose2016


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 **Day 30**

Buffy walked into Rax's place just after ten that morning. She had been waiting all morning for Willow and Tara to finally leave. They were heading to the Magic Shop to get some supplies for Willow's job once again. Buffy couldn't just walk out and come back without knowing that they would be gone for a while. She had to make sure they didn't get caught leaving, because she was not in the mood for that conversation. Buffy had written a letter explaining everything and that was all her friends would be getting. Buffy knew she should be feeling bad about leaving and having everything, including the house being sold, but she didn't. It wasn't Willow and Tara's house, it was hers and she had every right to sell it all off and move if she wanted to. She wasn't the only Slayer in the world, they had Faith and if the Council needed a Slayer that badly they could get Faith out of jail. Buffy was disappearing and looking forward to it.

Buffy walked into the second door and saw that Rax was awake this time. He turned as he heard the door open and gave Buffy yet another creepy smile.

"Ah the sunshine is back."

"Do you have what I need?" Buffy asked in a hurry. She just wanted to get as far away as possible before anyone came home to find the note she was going to leave.

Rax went over to a table and picked something up. He went over to Buffy and opened his hand to reveal three black rings.

"Wear the rings at all time and you will be blocked to all magic users. Your powerful Witch won't be able to find you. This one is yours." Rax said as he handed Buffy one of the rings.

Buffy took it and put it on her right ring finger and was surprised that it was a perfect fit.

"Now the one for your vampire I added something to his ring. I'm assuming you want to be traveling outside in the sun. I made it so that should he need to be out in the sun he can be. The ring will protect him as long as he is wearing it. It will only protect him from the sun and not other weaknesses." Rax said.

"For a favour I'm assuming." Buffy stated.

"Having a Master Vampire owing me a favour is not a bad position to be in. Do you require anything else Sunshine?"

"These will always work as long as we are wearing them? There's no expiration date on the magic?"

"As long as I am alive they will work."

"Thanks."

Buffy headed out and headed off for home. She had started to pack a few things in her room in the past couple of days. It wasn't like anyone would be going into her room, but she wanted to get the photos that were up of her family to take with her, a few things of her mom's. Buffy kept checking to make sure the rings were still in her pocket. She was terrified that she would lose them somehow. When she got home she called out.

"Willow! Tara!"

She didn't hear an answer, but she heard someone moving upstairs. She looked up and saw Dawn walking out of her room.

"They're not here. Is everything okay?"

"We're alone?" Buffy asked as she walked up the stairs.

"Ya, why? What's up?" Dawn asked with a slight concern tone in her voice.

"Pack a bag. Put some clothes in it, but focus on things you can't leave behind. All your pictures bring them downstairs we'll put in a small box to take." Buffy said with a serious voice.

Dawn looked at Buffy for a second and she could see it in Buffy's eyes that they weren't doing this because they weren't safe here. They were doing it for a completely different reason.

"We're not coming back?" Dawn asked just to double check.

"I don't know. But it won't be back here. We have to hurry before someone comes home. Here you need to wear this at all times, you can't take it off." Buffy said as she handed Dawn her ring.

"Why?" Dawn asked as she took the ring and put it on her right hand ring finger.

"It's to block any magic from being used on us or to locate us. Bring your school work we can mail it in or something so you don't lose out on all of your hard work."

"Ok, I'll call my work and let them know that something has come up and I can't be there anymore. It's direct deposit so they can put my final cheque in my bank. I'll pack quickly."

"Grab only what you can't live without."

Buffy headed off to her room to finish her packing before she would grab the few things that were her mom's before she would get a box together for the photos. She didn't want to leave them behind and she knew that Dawn wouldn't want to do it either. She also had some blood packages she got that she would put in a cooler and she would be making some sandwiches for her and Dawn to have. But they needed to move quickly so they could get out of here before they got company.

Once Buffy was all packed she went downstairs and grabbed a box from the basement. She started to collect the photos from the walls and took the pictures out and leaving the frames. She grabbed the family photo album and put it in the box as well. Once she had all the photos she went into the kitchen and started on the coolers. She saw Dawn come down the stairs with her bag and placed her photos into the box as well before going into the kitchen to help.

"What are you doing?"

"Making some sandwiches for the trip. There's a cooler can you put the ice into it and put Spike's blood packages into it."

"Spike's coming?" Dawn asked as she did what she was told.

"I hope so. I mean I haven't exactly asked him, but he'll come right? He wouldn't stay here with us gone." Buffy said trying to sound hopeful.

"He'll always come. Where are we going?"

"I don't know. Just far away that's all I know."

"What's going in the other cooler?"

"Drinks for us and food. Put in what you think will last."

Dawn went about packing the cooler while Buffy finished making the sandwiches.

"You need to take your phone and throw it away. I've got two new ones we can use. Put the number of your friends in it before you do it if you want. We can't keep the old phones or Will can track us."

"Got it."

Once the coolers were done and the phone numbers were in the new phones Buffy went and closed up the box before looking at Dawn.

"Are you ready?"

Dawn thought for a second before she spoke.

"I'm ready."

Buffy went over and placed the letter down on the table with the answering machine where she knew someone would find it.

"Let's go." Buffy said as she grabbed her bag with the box while Dawn grabbed her bag and the coolers.

They both headed out of the house and down the streets towards Spike's cemetery. They both knew they were leaving part of their past behind and they should be upset about walking away, but they both weren't. Dawn was actually looking forward to getting away and going somewhere else. She didn't know where they were going, but she didn't care, because Buffy and Spike was going to be with her. They made the walk to Spike's crypt as quickly as they could. When they finally arrived Buffy opened the door carefully as she didn't know where Spike would be at this time of the day. It was a little after eleven thirty, she suspected he was asleep, but she couldn't be sure as he didn't work last night. They walked in and saw Spike walking up the ladder from the downstairs. He took a look at them both and saw the bags.

"Movin' in ladies?" Spike asked as he walked towards them.

"Take us away somewhere, anywhere." Buffy said showing the hurt that she was feeling in her voice.

"Always Luv. Just have to wait until Mr. Dust Maker goes down." Spike said as he nodded to the window where the sun would be.

Buffy put her bag down and pulled out a ring as she spoke.

"A Warlock gave me three rings to block out magic being used on us or to locate us. He made it so that if you were wearing it that it would protect you from the sun."

Buffy handed the ring over to Spike who took it and looked it over before slipping it on as he spoke.

"Only one way to find out."

Spike headed over to his door and opened it. He first put his arm out and into the sunlight. When his arm didn't start to smoke he stepped further out into the sun and stood there with no problem at all. He spoke as he looked at Buffy and Dawn.

"Looks like it works. I just need to pack a bag and clean the black off the car."

Spike walked back inside and Dawn spoke.

"I'll clean it while you pack."

Dawn grabbed the keys off the counter and grabbed her bag and headed out. Once she was gone Spike closed the door so it wouldn't look suspicious as he spoke in a concern tone.

"Do you plan on coming back Luv?"

"No. I already quit my job, spoke to a lawyer and got a secret account made and had whatever money I had left transferred into it. I have a real estate agent for the house and the gallery. She's going to have everything up for sale in the house and at the gallery and the money will go towards the debt. My lawyer said it'll pay off the debt and the mortgage so I won't have to worry about that anymore. And whatever is left will go into my account. I'm never coming back Spike." Buffy said with determination.

"Are you sure about this Luv? It's not too late to change your mind."

"Do you not want to go? Do you think I'm making a mistake?" Buffy said sounding unsure.

"That's not it at all Luv. I'll go anywhere with you and the Bit, anytime. I don't get attached to towns, I get attached to people. You're my girls it's just that simple. I just don't want you to regret it that's all."

Buffy was quiet for a second before she spoke.

"I almost killed myself two days ago. I had a knife in my hand and I was seconds away from slashing my wrist." Buffy said with pain in her voice.

"Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?" Spike asked with worry as he went over to Buffy and gently grabbed her left wrist to check it over.

"I stopped before I could do anything damaging. I've been so tired, but I can barely sleep. I can't bring myself to do anything. Even patrolling I go and I sit on a tombstone and wait for some vamp or demon to show up. I just can't bring myself to care."

"You're depressed Luv. After what happened to you it's natural." Spike said with a gentle voice.

"It would be natural, only I'm not depressed. I'm so pissed off at my friends, the people who claim to love me. It's literally draining everything out of me. I didn't almost kill myself because I was so depressed. I did it to spite them. I overheard Willow talking about doing a spell to help me forget about where I was and what you've done for Dawn since I've been dead. I wanted to die too spite them. They wouldn't be able to bring me back and they would have to deal with their own lives. The only thing that stopped me was seeing Dawn's picture. What it would do to her if I died again? What it would do to you? I couldn't put you both through that, so I put a plan together to leave and disappear. They don't know. I left a letter telling them that I was in Heaven and they put me in Hell. I want to get away and I don't know if I'll ever come back."

"Then you don't Luv. You need to learn how to live and how to be who you are outside of the Slaying. You're not the only Slayer anymore Luv. If they need one so badly they can get the rebel out of jail and have her do the work. You've paid your price and you did your job. You've died twice Luv, you've earn the right to live and I plan on showin' you how. Give me five minutes to pack and I'll be set to go." Spike said with a smile.

He headed down to the basement and Buffy followed as she spoke.

"How do you do it? You've been all over the world, how do you just go from one place to the next?"

Spike answered as he grabbed his duffle bag to start packing his clothes.

"By remembering life is about livin' and experiencin'. I didn't live when I was alive. I did everythin' I was expected and told to do. I played by the rules, I lived by the rules and back in my days that meant you did nothin'. I went to University, got a Master Degree in English, I took care of my sick Mum and the family business. I was the man it was my job, my responsibility to do so. I still believe that. It's why Dru was always taken care of no matter what. When I died I truly got to experience living. I tried different foods, I've lived in different places and met new people. If I didn't like a place we packed up and moved on. It was easy and freeing. I learnt in death how to truly live and I'm gonna show you how to truly live. You got dragged out of Heaven, that's painful and for lack of a better word it sucks. But you're here and you're bent on stayin' you might as well make the most of it and enjoy the moments you have so when you do get to go back to that place in the sky you'll do it knowin' you got to truly live."

Buffy gave a real smile for the first time since she had been brought back. She instantly felt better. She instantly felt safe and protected and understood. All it took was a few minutes with Spike and she felt like she was making the right decision.

"I don't know where to go though or how to do any of this."

"Lucky for us I do. First step is gettin' on the road. After that we'll figure it out."

Spike zipped up his bag and went over to the foot of the bed and bent down. He pulled out an old leather small trunk and Buffy spoke.

"What's that?"

"Things I've kept with me for all of these years."

"Like what?" Buffy asked with curiosity.

"Maybe one day I'll show you. For now they are things I care about and would rather not lose."

Spike grabbed both things and he headed for the ladder. They both went up and Dawn walked in.

"Ok the black is gone and the car is cleaned out. Seriously though, where are we going?"

"How much dosh do we have? I have three hundred in my account." Spike said.

"I have about two." Dawn answered.

"I have three grand in that secret account I made. I have no idea where to go."

Buffy said sounding completely unsure.

"You trust me?" Spike asked Buffy.

"Completely." Buffy answered without hesitation.

"You both have your identification and all that?" Spike asked.

"Ya we both grabbed our passports and everything else." Buffy answered.

"One place we can go that can turn ten bucks into a hundred grand." Spike said.

"Where?" Dawn asked.

"Vegas baby." Spike said with a smirk.

"Seriously?" Dawn asked with a smile.

"I know the demon community down there. I can get us a cheap furnished apartment for when we arrive. Play poker in the casinos and build up our kid. When we have enough we move on to some other place or stay there. It'd take care of the money issue." Spike said.

"Let's go." Buffy easily said.

"Hey I'm down for Vegas baby." Dawn said with a smirk to Spike.

"Did you bring your homework Bit?"

"I did."

"Good we can mail it in when you have it done and they can mail you the next books. You don't have to keep doin' it, but you need to until these courses are done." Spike said.

"I will."

"We need to get going. I don't know how long Willow and Tara were going to be at the Magic Shop." Buffy said feeling slightly worried about getting caught.

"Let's go." Spike said.

They grabbed everything they needed and headed outside. They put the bags into the trunk and the coolers into the back seat. Dawn got into the back while Spike and Buffy got into their seats. Spike started the car and then they took off. Once they got on the highway Buffy felt like she could breathe easier now. She was out of town and once she was out of the State she would feel even better.

"How long does it take to get to Vegas?" Buffy asked.

"Three and a half hours give or take. I got my paperwork, but don't fancy gettin' pulled over. Niblet, text this number, 702-354-9578, tell him it's Spike and I need a three bedroom furnished apartment for today that's available for a few months at least." Spike said.

"Got it."

Dawn pulled out her cell phone and did as she was told.

"What if we can't find a place?" Buffy asked.

"I can always find a place Luv. I have connections with the demon community all over the world. We'll have a place either by the time we get there or just after." Spike said.

Spike reached over and pulled out two small pads of paper. He handed one to Buffy and one to Dawn.

"What's this for?" Dawn asked.

"You both are gonna write a list. Things you have always wanted to do and places you've always wanted to see. And then we're gonna do it all. Pens in the glove box."

"We're gonna do it?" Buffy asked sceptically.

"That's right Luv, we're gonna see it and do it all. I don't care how crazy it is. Things you've always wanted to do write it down and we'll do it." Spike said.

Buffy grabbed two pens from the glove box and passed one to Dawn as she spoke.

"Is this part of you teaching me how to live?" Buffy asked still sceptical.

"That it is Luv." Spike said with a smile as he looked at Buffy for a second before putting his eyes back on the road.

"No matter how crazy it is? Say I want to parachute from a plane." Buffy said testing Spike's theory.

"I know a demon that's a pilot." Spike simply said.

"You're dead serious about this? Anything at all?" Buffy said slightly shocked.

"Anything Luv. Even if that is seein' a musical in New York on Broadway. We'll do it."

"Oh that is so going on my list." Dawn said with a giggle.

"Are you doing it?" Buffy asked shocked as she turned in her seat to see Dawn.

"If there is one thing I know about Spike, it's that if he says something he'll do it. Come on it'll be fun. We can cross it off as we go." Dawn said.

"Alright, I'm putting the plane one on." Buffy said as she turned around in her seat.

"We've never been on a plane before so that counts as two." Dawn said.

"I've never been on one either." Spike said.

"Oh Grand Canyon." Dawn said.

"That one's easy. It's only a four hour drive from Vegas." Spike said.

"Disney World." Buffy said.

"Have you ever been on a roller coaster Spike?" Dawn asked.

"Nope." Spike answered.

"Really?" Buffy asked.

"Didn't have a reason to be." Spike said.

"Ok we're adding a new section, things Spike has never done. Being on a plane and a roller coaster. Anything you've never done that would be normal and in no way sexual?" Buffy asked.

"I've never been to a zoo or a circus." Spike answered easily.

"Really? How is that possible?" Dawn asked shocked.

"Didn't have em when I was young and then when they did I was allergic to sunlight." Spike answered.

"Ok zoo and circus is going on the list. Along with bungee jumping and rock climbing." Buffy said.

"Oo Hawaii." Dawn said.

"Ya a week on a private beach resort." Buffy said.

"Shopping spree in New York City." Dawn said.

"A day at a spa." Buffy said.

"See now you're getting into it." Spike said with a warm smile.

"I'll admit this is fun. It's like a bucket list only instead of being things I want to do before I die, it's things I want to do because I'm alive. I want to see Paris." Buffy said.

"And Australia." Dawn said.

"Never been there." Spike said.

"Really? Why not?" Buffy asked.

"Couldn't fly, I could only take a boat. It would take too long." Spike answered.

"That makes sense." Buffy said.

"What about zip lining?" Dawn asked.

"That we can do in Vegas. You can zip line all down the strip." Spike said.

"That sounds like fun." Buffy said.

"Can we go into a casino even though we aren't old enough to gamble?" Dawn asked.

"You can as long as you don't gamble." Spike answered.

"What's there to do in Vegas besides gamble?" Buffy asked.

"There's shows and concerts. We can go see the Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, there is shopping, there are museums, aquariums, there is a bus tour. There's a lot more than just gambling to do there." Spike answered.

Dawn's phone buzzed and she opened it to see the text message back.

"Oh you're friend messaged me back. He said okay I have a place for you. When and where do you want to meet? What do you want me to tell him?" Dawn asked Spike.

"Tell him we'll meet him at the apartment in three and a half hours. We should be there by then. Ask where and how much." Spike answered.

"And it'll be furnished and everything?" Buffy asked.

"Yup. We'll be set. We just need to pay the rent each month and when we want to leave just let him know." Spike said.

"Got it. This is crazy. What did you put in the letter you left Buffy?"

Spike looked over at Buffy and Buffy looked at him. Spike knew that Buffy had left a letter stating that she was in Heaven, but she hadn't told Dawn about it yet. Buffy didn't know if she wanted to tell her or not. It wasn't going to be something that is easily understood or easily accepted. It was being dragged out of Heaven. At the same time though, it would help Dawn to understand why Buffy was acting the way she was.

"It's up to you Luv."

"What is it?" Dawn asked with concern.

Buffy turned in her seat so she could face Dawn better.

"Dawnie, I was in Heaven. They pulled me out of Heaven." Buffy made sure her voice was gentle.

"What? No, they said you were in Hell." Dawn said sounding confused and hurt.

"I wasn't. They didn't check to see where I was."

"That bitch." Dawn said with anger filling her voice and replacing the hurt and confusion.

"Bit." Spike warned for the language.

"Oh come on Spike, that totally deserved the B word. How could they not check? That's just stupid. So that's why we left."

"I just couldn't do it anymore Dawnie. I couldn't be in that house with them or around them. I know it's not fair to you to make you leave your life, but I just couldn't do it anymore."

"Please I can make friends anywhere. Plus I can still text them. It's no big deal. Family is what matters most. What about the house?"

"I have it going up for sale. I have a lawyer and a real estate agent handling everything. Mom's gallery and everything inside of it will be put up for sale. Same as the house. All of that money will go towards the outstanding debts and whatever is left over will be placed in the new account I made."

"Good then they won't be able to live there. I wish I could have seen their face when they read that letter."

"Makes two of us Bit."

"They won't just accept us leaving, especially once they figure out Spike is with us. That's why it's so important that you keep the ring on. I don't want them finding us and having to deal with that drama."

"I won't take it off I promise."

Dawn's phone beeped and she opened it to see a response from Spike's friend.

"He said 1898 North Washington Road and it's eight hundred a month. Where is that?"

"That is not too far off the Strip or Downtown. It's a good spot and a great price. Most places there go for two grand a month for a one bedroom."

"Will it be loud?" Buffy asked.

"Naw, we won't be right on the Strip. It's a good spot. Close enough that you and the Bit could walk anywhere you need."

"Good then we won't have to always wait for you to be up. This is good. I'm feeling better about this." Buffy said.

"You should Luv. It's time you got to live your life how you see it and not how you think you should or what others are dictatin' you to be."

"Ya you totally deserve this. We're going on an adventure. How cool is this?" Dawn said going back to being really excited.

"It's pretty cool. I never thought I would ever do something like this. You're sure you'll be able to make enough money?" Buffy asked Spike.

"Done it plenty of times before Luv. Especially in the human group. We'll be set Luv."

"Spike's got this Buffy, don't worry. Before you know it we'll be in Vegas." Dawn said with a small squeal of delight.

"The Bit's right Luv. Just sit back and enjoy the ride." Spike said with a smirk.

"Sit back and work on this list." Buffy said back with her own smirk.

They were a few hours away from Vegas still, but with each passing mile Buffy was feeling better and better.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It wasn't until three hours later when Willow, Tara, Xander, Anya and Giles arrived at Buffy's house. They all wanted to speak to her about her Slaying as the number of vamps and demons didn't seem to be going down according to Giles. They all wanted to speak to her about where she had been patrolling and how many vamps she kills a night. They were slightly surprised to see that she wasn't home nor was Dawn.

"Maybe she had to work." Tara said as she went into the living room.

"She didn't call to tell anyone." Giles said.

"Oh hey a letter. Maybe her phone was dead." Willow said as she picked up the letter than was placed by the phone.

Willow opened the letter and began to read it. The others could see as her face changed from normal to sadness and then anger. They all knew that whatever was in this letter was not something they were going to like.

"Baby, what is it?" Tara asked gently as she got up and stood beside Willow.

"They're gone. Buffy took Dawn and left." Willow said with shock in her voice along with anger edging it.

"What do you mean gone? She wouldn't just leave like this." Xander automatically said as he went over and took the letter from Tara.

"She was in Heaven. We took her out of Heaven." Tara said with a great sadness to her voice.

"What?" Giles asked softly.

"She said she was in Heaven. That she couldn't do this anymore. Couldn't see us anymore. She's taken Dawn and leaving. She's even put the house and everything inside of it up for sale." Tara explained.

"This doesn't make any sense though. Where would she go? She doesn't drive. She doesn't have anywhere else to go, but here." Xander said.

"Maybe she took a bus to L.A." Anya suggested.

"She said she wasn't going there. Apparently, she's not happy with Angel either." Willow said with anger as she started to pace around.

"We took her from Heaven. Why didn't she tell us?" Xander asked hurt by all of this.

"You all pulled her out of Heaven. How exactly did you expect her to tell you?" Giles asked with his own anger. Anger at the people in the room that had defied the laws of nature and brought someone back from the dead. Anger at Buffy for just leaving like this when she had responsibilities here to take care of.

"That's not the main issue right now. She's out there with Dawn and we have no idea where she is. She could be in danger." Willow said.

"Not likely. Buffy is strong, even if she doesn't know much about how to survive out in the world outside of here. Although, Spike is very good at that so maybe she got some pointers from him. Or he went with her, which seems more logical." Anya said.

"Buffy wouldn't go anywhere with Spike." Xander said.

"Why not? He could drive them; get them a place to live with the demon community. He could take them anywhere and get them money. It's what I would do in Buffy's position." Anya said back.

"It's daylight. Spike wouldn't be able to leave with them, but perhaps he does know something." Giles said.

"We need to speak to him and see. Then we need to find a place to live. According to the letter, Buffy has someone coming tomorrow to appraise everything. We need to pack up our personal items before they go up for sale." Tara said.

"This is insane. She's just having a bad reaction to what happened to her. She'll be back within a couple of days regretting this." Willow said.

"Buffy owns the house though. We can't do anything about this." Tara said.

"Let's go talk to Spike. He's going to tell us what he knows or he's going to be dust." Xander said with anger as he tossed the letter down and headed for the door.

The others having no other choice followed Xander out to speak with Spike and get to the bottom of all of this. They were not going to let Buffy make this huge mistake. They were going to find them, no matter what it took.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The three had finally arrived in La Vegas. Buffy and Dawn's eyes were glued to their windows as they took in all of the sites they never thought they would see. Even though they were less than four hours away from Sunnydale, they felt like they had travelled to another world. It was just after three in the afternoon and already the casinos had their lights on. The streets were busy and packed with people of all different walks of life. Neon signs pulled your eye towards them as they shouted off who was performing and where. It was beautiful in a different way and Buffy found herself not wanting to leave any time soon. She didn't think this sight would ever get boring. This was a town full of life and that is exactly what Buffy wanted to be, full of life. Her smile had been plastered on her face the minute Spike pulled off the highway. Buffy could honestly say in this moment she didn't feel any resentment, sadness or anger at being alive. For the first time since she could even remember she felt excited. Excited for something new and different. Excited for not having to be a Slayer and spending her nights fighting evil. She had died twice in her life and now it was her time to live and screw the Powers if they didn't like it.

Spike pulled off the Strip and they arrived at their new home. Spike parked in front of a twenty-eight storey apartment building. The walls were made of glass all around it. It held large balconies that ran the length of the apartment. Both Buffy and Dawn couldn't get out of the car fast enough just so they could go inside and check it out. Spike gave a chuckle to them as he got out himself. He closed his eyes and stretched his body from the drive. Allowing himself to soak up the bright and hot sun against his skin.

"Spike, something you want to tell me about?" A man asked as he walked over to them.

"Got me a new trinket that lets me play with all of the other boys and girls." Spike answered easily.

"Lucky boy. Play out in the sun and you have two beautiful women with you. I'm jealous."

"Livin' the dream mate. Buffy, Dawn, this is Damien." Spike said making the introductions.

"A pleasure to meet you both. It's not everyday you meet a Slayer." Damien said with a smile.

"No Slayer here. Here I'm just Buffy." Buffy said with a smile.

"Fine by me. We keeping quiet about this?" Damien asked Spike.

"We were never here."

"Here where?" Damien said with a smirk before continuing. "Come on in I'll show you around."

Dawn all but skipped behind Damien to get inside. They all headed inside and Damien pushed the top floor button in the elevator.

"We're at the top?" Dawn asked amazed.

"Yes, I hope that's okay." Damien said.

"It's awesome." Dawn said with a huge smile.

"Is there any paperwork we need to sign?" Buffy asked slightly worried about Willow and her hacking skills.

"Not for you. My other tenants yes, but Spike and I have different rules for each other."

"And what would they be?" Buffy asked as she eyed Spike.

"Be there when the other calls." Spike simply answered.

They arrived at the floor and they followed Damien down the hallway to the apartment as he spoke.

"Thirty years ago my daughter was kidnapped. She was only three at the time. Spike happened to be in town and he just happened to come across them. Where most vampires would have minded their own business or let a demon be killed he stepped in. Killer her kidnapper and brought her home to me. Every since he's been family."

"Right back at you mate." Spike said sincerely.

"So apparently the Big Bad, wasn't always Big and Bad." Buffy teased with a playful smile.

"I've had my moments." Spike said not even bothering to hide it.

"I'd like to hear about those." Buffy said sincerely as Damien opened the door.

"One day you will." Spike said.

"Oh my God!" Dawn yelled as she all, but ran into the apartment.

The whole place was an open concept and it was huge. Three out of the four walls were floor to ceiling windows. The furniture was all leather with marble flooring. The kitchen had an island with stools. All stainless steal appliances, including a build in microwave and popcorn machine.

"Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, rooftop pool and hot tub, a few shops in the main floor and underground parking." Damien said as he tossed the keys to Spike knowing that he would be the one to use them the most.

"This is amazing. I mean it's amazing. How is this only a grand a month?" Buffy asked shocked that something so beautiful could be rented for that small of a price.

"You have the family price." Damien simply said.

"Are you sure though? Won't that affect you?" Buffy asked not really comfortable with having a place like this if it meant that they were putting someone else out.

Damien merely gave a chuckle to that before he spoke. "Sweetness, I own eight other buildings just like this. I'm worth billions. I wouldn't charge you anything, but Spike doesn't like when I do that. He's old in that sense. I'll come by tomorrow for the cash." Damien said to Spike.

"I'll have it by then." Spike said confidently.

"You always do. Now ladies, I take it this is your first time here in Vegas. Normally I would tell you to be careful at night, but with Spike and a Slayer I think it's the other people need to be worried. I've lived here my whole life so if you have any questions feel free to ask me. There are a lot of age appropriate sites to see and activities. Enjoy yourselves." Damien said with a warm smile.

"Thank-you so much for this. It means a lot to me. I won't forget it." Buffy said with sincerity in her voice.

"It's my pleasure. Family is family. I'll leave you three to explore. I'm sure you both are going to keep Spike very busy."

"That they will. Lookin' forward to it." Spike said lovingly.

"See you all tomorrow." Damien said with a wave as he headed out of the apartment.

"What are you waitin' for? Go look around and make your claims to rooms." Spike said with a knowing smile.

Buffy and Dawn didn't need to be told twice. They both took off down the hallway and Spike gave a chuckle. He turned to head down to the car and to move it to the right place in the underground and grab their things. He would let Buffy and Dawn have a few moments to themselves as they got their rooms sorted out. Dawn and Buffy went from room to room exploring everything. The rooms were just as beautiful with floor to ceiling windows. They all had curtains so they wouldn't have to worry about that. Each bedroom held a king size bed, a dresser, a walk-in closet, a dressing table and a couch. They were amazing. The room Buffy laid claim to, the one with it's own private bathroom, held a shower stall made of marble with six shower heads that come down from the ceiling and a Jacuzzi tub big enough for five people. She also had a separate balcony overlooking the Strip. The balcony in the living room did as well and that one had fancy outdoor furniture, a barbeque and an electric fire pit. This place was like a dream come true and Buffy found herself never wanting to leave.

Buffy and Dawn made their way back into the living room noticing for the first time that Spike wasn't there.

"Hey where did Spike go?" Dawn asked.

"He probably went to move the car and grab the bags. So what do you think?"

"I think I'm never leaving. I mean can we just stay here under we die? Just travel when we want and come back home here."

"We can do whatever we want. I've never felt so free before in my life. I can't wait to explore."

"I can't wait for Spike to get into a casino and start playing poker. He's amazing at it, especially with humans. He can hear when they are lying. We're gonna be so rich."

"Think of the clothes we can get. I bet it's like shopping in downtown L.A or New York." Buffy said with dreamy eyes.

"Oh ya we so need to get him sitting at a table."

The front door opened again and Spike walked in loaded with their things. Buffy and Dawn immediately went over to him and grabbed some of the stuff.

"I would have gone with you." Buffy automatically said.

"I know Luv. Figured I'd move the car and grab the things while you two birds got your rooms sorted out."

"Buffy has the biggest room and I have the one beside her. We figured you would rather be closer to the door just in case." Dawn said.

"That I would Bit. No one's sneaking by me."

"We've decided we're never leaving here." Buffy said with a smile.

"I figured you like this place. And we don't have to leave. We can do whatever you both want." Spike easily said.

"Well what I want to do right now is check out that rooftop before heading out and grabbing some food." Dawn said.

"Sounds good. We'll need it pick up bathing suits I didn't bring one." Buffy said back.

"Me either. Didn't seem important. We can pick one up. You'll need one too won't you Spike." Dawn asked.

"Suppose I better. Don't think anyone would appreciate me goin' in my skivvies."

"Ya I don't think that would be kid appropriate. Can we go look around or should we put stuff away first?" Buffy thought out loud.

"Let's put the perishables away Luv then the day is yours."

Dawn went and brought her things into her new room while Buffy and Spike put the food away. Buffy and Spike then brought their own things and placed them in their room before they all headed out. They made their way up to the rooftop first to check it out before they would go out and grab some things. They could grab dinner and tomorrow they could always go to a grocery store for some food.

"So do you think they found the note yet?" Dawn asked as they went up one floor in the elevator.

"I don't know. It doesn't matter they can't find us through a computer or magic. We're free to do what we want. It's not like they are going to start searching every town for us." Buffy answered as the door opened.

The rooftop pool area was just as beautiful as the rest of the place. There were cabanas all around the pool area. The pool had a built up rock waterfall in the one corner, there was a bar in another corner of the pool area and the hot tub. The whole place was beautiful and that was the only word that any of them could think of to describe this building so far.

"We so need suits. There's no way I am going more than one day without getting in that pool." Dawn said.

"Or spending all day laying in the sun. I think that's what I'm doing tomorrow. I seriously need to get my tan back." Buffy said.

"We need to get food at some point for you two. We can do that today if you want so tomorrow you both can do whatever you'd like."

"Ya I guess we should be responsible first and get some food. Maybe we should do that real quick before we go exploring." Buffy said with a slight pout.

"We probably should, because later we won't want to." Dawn agreed.

"Let's get to the car then and go grab some food. Afterwards we can go wander around and you both can see the sites. Tonight I'll go and play at the casinos to make us some dosh." Spike said.

They all headed back onto the elevator and took it down to the underground parking.

"Will you be there all night?" Buffy asked.

"Probably Pet. We need to build up or kiddie. Poker is the quickest way to do it. We should also set up a different account under a false name. That way Red can't track it if she finds your other account."

"Oh I didn't even think about that. Do you know someone who could do that?" Buffy asked not liking that she could be tracked that way.

"Know a bloke who could. I'll sort it tonight." Spike answered as they got out of the elevator and headed for the car.

"Most things are walking distance from here. I'll show you how to get to the main strip and from there you can find almost anythin' you need." Spike said as they got into the car.

"Good. I don't want to feel lost when you're not around. I also don't want to have to wake you up just for us to go out somewhere." Buffy said.

"Take me about a week before my body gets used to being up all day and sleepin' at night."

"You'll be able to change it?" Dawn asked.

"Can ya. Just takes a bit to get my body used to doing somethin' against my nature."

"That'll be nice. Then you can be with us during the day. You can work on your tan. Do vampires tan?" Buffy asked.

"Don't know Pet. Guess we'll see." Spike said as he drove them to a grocery store.

"Everywhere looks so cool." Dawn said as she looked out the window.

"You got plenty of time to look around Bit."

"I know, but where to start." Dawn said back.

"We'll work in sections. Is there a beach near by?"

"Beach resorts, but no actual beaches here Pet."

"What should we get at the store?" Dawn asked.

"Let's just grab enough food to get us through the next couple of days and then we can figure out some meals later. We mainly need breakfast stuff and snacks." Buffy answered.

"Can you barbeque Spike?"

"Know how ya."

"So we could do burgers one night."

"Those are easy to make. We need coffee. Coffee is a must." Buffy said.

Spike pulled into the grocery store and they all got out. Dawn grabbed a cart and the three of them headed inside.

"Do you need any spices for your blood?" Buffy asked Spike.

"I'll pick some up ya."

"Angel never did that. Is it just you or was that just him?" Buffy asked with genuine curiosity.

"Most don't tend to. I still have the ability to taste so blood tends to get old. Think of eating the same exact food every single day, multiple times a day for a century. Gets old fast."

"I can see that. I don't like eating the same thing for breakfast everyday for a week. I can't imagine only being able to eat one thing. You eat other food though. I always thought that turned to ash a vamp's mouth." Buffy asked as they walked around the store grabbing a few essentials for now.

"Majority do. A few rare ones like me can eat normal food. I like food. I like cookin' and tryin' new things. Me and the Bit used to bake together while you were gone. I like doin' normal things."

"Baking eh? You'll have to bake us something then." Buffy said with a smile.

"Anytime Luv. It's good seein' that smile on your face again. Never thought I'd see it."

"It feels good being able to smile again. This is exactly what I needed. Thank-you."

"Don't know what you're thankin' me for. This was your idea."

Buffy placed her hand in Spike's and stopped him. She stood in front of him still holding onto his hand.

"No my ide was to run away and never look back. It's you who made this possible. It's you who is showing me how to live. I can't thank you enough for that." Buffy said with complete sincerity to her voice.

Spike moved his free hand and placed it against Buffy's cheek. "My pleasure Luv."

Buffy gave Spike a smile and she turned to keep walking, but she didn't let go of Spike's hand and Spike wasn't one to bring it up. They spent the next fifteen minutes collecting a few things to get them through the next couple of days before they headed out. They made their way back to the apartment and headed inside to put everything away. With that done they all headed back out and started to walk towards the Strip. Spike walked with Dawn on his left and Buffy on his right. He was going to show them everything they had ever wanted to see. He was going to make sure his girls were well taken care of and happy.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The gang arrived at Spike's crypt and Xander flung the door open not even worried about the sun hitting Spike. They didn't see him in the upper level so Xander went and headed down to see if he was there. The others waited to hear from Xander if it was empty. When Xander came back up without any banging they knew it was.

"He's gone. His clothes are gone. He went with them. I'll bet you anything that this was his idea. Just so he could get Buffy all to himself and away from us." Xander said with anger.

"You don't know that. It would make sense for Buffy to have Spike with her. He's the one that has done this for a century. With his connections he could take them anywhere." Anya said.

"But how did they leave? He can't go out in the sun." Tara said.

"Any vampire with enough demon connections could figure out how to get a hold of a spell or a talisman to block out the sun. With a good enough reason Spike would be able to figure it out." Anya said again.

"Now what do we do?" Tara asked.

"We find them. I can use a locator spell and we can go and get Buffy back. Spike's been poisoning their brains and now he has Buffy right where he wants her. She's vulnerable after what happened to her. He's just going to keep her weak." Willow said with anger.

"Yes I quite agree. We must locate them and get them away from Spike. He's manipulating them and with Buffy's current state of mind she doesn't know any better." Giles said.

"I'm going to kill him. I don't care if he can fight back or not. He's dust when we find them." Xander said as he shook with anger.

"Let's get back to the house. Buffy must have left something there I can use." Willow said with determination.

They all headed back out and got into Xander's car. They were going to make sure Buffy and Dawn were back safe with them no matter what. They were not going to let Spike manipulate and take advantage of them anymore. Spike was dead for good when they finally find him and Buffy would finally be free from him and his obsession.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **Follow me on Facebook: DianneRose2016**


End file.
